Lehman Riggs

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lehman Riggs in Capa-Haus 2016

Lehman Riggs (born January 17, 1920 in Arkansas ) is a US veteran and the last contemporary witness who was involved in the liberation of Leipzig in April 1945 . He contributed significantly to the identity of the photo Last man to die (the last dead man in the war) and with his lectures he was able to prevent the demolition of the historic building at Jahnallee 61 in Leipzig ( Capa-Haus ) together with the citizens' initiative Capa-Hausverinitiative, there, where he saw his comrade Raymond J. Bowman die one day before the end of the war on April 18, 1945 in Leipzig. Riggs is the last survivor of the US 2nd Infantry Division .

Life / contemporary witness

Riggs volunteered for the front at the age of 25 (previously he worked as an aircraft manufacturer in Detroit ). With the 2nd US Infantry Division, also called Indianheads , he was already involved in the landing in Normandy . When Leipzig was liberated by the US Army in April 1945, Riggs and Bowman were supposed to cover the storming of the Zeppelin Bridge in Leipzig-Lindenau in the direction of the city. Riggs was the first marksman on a heavy machine gun. It stood on a balcony on the second floor at Jahnallee 61. Bowman was fatally shot by a German sniper after a battle. Riggs only survived because Bowman stood in for him at the time. The war photographer Robert Capa , who was in the apartment, pressed the shutter release and published the photo of the dying soldier in the US magazine "Life" after the German surrender.

Lehman Riggs reported in a later interview to the news broadcaster WTN 99.7 of his war experiences in Leipzig. The exact name of the last dead man in the war has now been confirmed by the military historian Jürgen Möller , who researches the American occupation in Central Germany.

Riggs first visited the now demolished building on Jahnallee in 2012 at the invitation of the MDR and members of the Leipzig Capa-Haus initiative. The Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung , and the American Consul General Mark J. Powell received the last contemporary witness Lehman Riggs for an interview and stopped the order already given to demolish the historically significant building.

Franz Caspari and Lehman Riggs unveil memorial plaque at Capa-Haus in 2016

Riggs came back to Leipzig in 2016 at the age of 96 and, thanks to the investor Horst Langner, found a lavishly renovated building, including a memorial on the ground floor, which commemorates the liberation of Leipzig and the events in this house. He met the German war veteran Franz Caspari again (he was a soldier in the Wehrmacht at the time) and an exchange of letters with him developed that lasted until Caspari's death in 2017.

Lehman Riggs worked for the post office after the war. As the oldest member of the Veterans Honor Guard, Riggs attended ceremonies at more than 1,000 funerals and played taps for the deceased soldiers. Riggs lives in Cookeville, Tennessee .

Others

Representatives of the district Putnam County (Tennessee) were preparing to mark his 100th birthday a "Lehman Riggs Day".

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lehman Riggs in the 1940 Census. In: ancestry. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  2. ^ Conversation with contemporary witnesses with Lehman Riggs. In: Inge Bell. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  3. ^ Capa house in Leipzig, citizens' initiative. In: WordPress. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  4. ↑ HONORING THE LAST MAN TO DIE. In: Tactical-Life Magazines. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  5. ^ The Capa-Haus goes west: Listen to Ralph Bristol at WTN99.7. In: wordpress. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Lord Mayor receives US veteran Lehman Riggs. In: City of Leipzig. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Photo gallery. In: Dresdner Latest News. Retrieved February 2, 2020 .
  8. ↑ US war veteran turns 100. In: Leipziger Volkszeitung. Retrieved February 2, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Putnams oldest veteran to celebrate 100th birthday. In: Herald-Citizen. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
  10. ^ A Century of Service. In: Herald-Citizen. Accessed January 31, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Riggs, Lehman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American soldier
DATE OF BIRTH 17th January 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Arkansas