FORT POLK, La. — Nearly 75 years ago, Lehman Riggs was an infantryman spending the final days of World War II in the German town of Leipzig. With the war winding down in March 1945, Riggs and a fellow Soldier, Raymond “Robert” Bowman, were machine gunners assigned to Company D, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division and tasked with providing cover fire from a third floor balcony overlooking the Elbe River, as U.S. Soldiers set up defensive positions along the river.
Riggs and Bowman would alternate manning the .30-caliber Browning M1919 machine gun from their perch, swapping positions each time the gun had to be reloaded.
Also in the third story room was Robert Capa, a photographer for Life magazine, who followed the two Soldiers up the stairs to capture images of the battle.
It was at this point that fate — and Capa’s camera lens — stepped in and memorialized Riggs and Bowman.
As Riggs slid from behind the gun and Bowman took his place, a single shot from a German sniper hit the 21-year-old Bowman near his nose, killing him instantly. Riggs climbed over his fellow Soldier’s prostrate body and continued to lay down cover fire.
Capa captured the events on film and when Life magazine published its issue of May 14, 1945 signaling victory in Europe, the photos of Riggs and Bowman were published, with their faces obscured hiding their identities.
Capa’s photographs, titled “Death on a Leipzig Balcony” and “The Last Man to Die” are often seen in World War II history books, but for years the identities of the two men remained a mystery.
If the name Riggs rings a bell with the Fort Polk Family, it’s not surprising: Chap. (Lt. Col.) Derrick Riggs is the installation chaplain. And much to the surprise of the extended Riggs clan, the Lehman Riggs captured on film and in Life magazine was a family member they never realized was a famous World War II hero.
“My family knew nothing of his time in World War II because he never talked about it,” Riggs said. “Ten years ago, city officials from Leipzig, Germany, contacted Uncle Lehman to invite him back to Leipzig, Germany as they were having a special memorialization of the building in which he fought.”
Riggs said his uncle, the youngest of 11 siblings, never talked about his experience in the war and for more than 60 years, the Riggs family knew nothing of the photo.
“Shortly after Uncle Lehman was invited back to Germany, I met with him and he gave me a copy of the magazine which had the pictures of his event and the story about it,” Riggs said.
While Chap. Riggs was assigned at US Europe cCommand in Stuttgart, Germany, his uncle was again brought to Germany on April 17, 2016, when the city of Leipzig changed the name of the street in front of the building where Riggs and Bowman manned their machine gun to Bowman Strasse.
“I had the immense honor to attend the ceremony and even visit the room in the building where the pictures were taken,” Riggs said. “As I walked up the stairs to the room with my uncle, I began to ask him a series of questions designed to help him remember details. After about a minute, he began telling the story of that day.”
Riggs said when he asked his uncle why he never talked about the war he replied, “For those of us coming back from the war, all we wanted to do was go back to our regular lives. We did not talk about it much because all our memories of the war are bad.”
Riggs said his uncle was baffled as to why it was Bowman and not him who was killed that day in Leipzig.
“He said the bullet went through his friend and ricocheted around the room, but didn’t hit anyone else,” Riggs said. “He said he always wondered why it wasn’t him.”
Riggs said one thing his uncle never wondered about was his faith. His father — Riggs’ grandfather — was a preacher, as was his younger brother — Riggs’ father, Retired Chap. (Col.) Dwight Riggs. Although Lehman did not become a preacher, Riggs said he did teach Sunday School for more than 60 years.
“And he was always witnessing to fellow Soldiers,” Riggs said. “I recently received a copy of a letter he wrote to his wife, and in it he talked about the opportunities he had to share the Gospel with others. He was — and is — a strong Christian.”
On Saturday, a ceremony celebrating Lehman Riggs’ 100th birthday and honoring his service to the nation, will be held in in Riggs’ hometown of Cookeville, Tennessee, where he’ll also be recognized as Tennessee’s oldest surviving World War II veteran.
Fort Polk’s Riggs said he wouldn’t miss the ceremony for the world. When asked what his thoughts would be as he watch the honors bestowed on his uncle, Riggs sat with his head bowed for a couple of minutes, the only sounds were light sobs coming from a proud nephew.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Riggs said, “I know what’s going to happen: My dad and I will be in uniform, as will a couple of others, and Uncle Lehman will walk up — in his uniform which still fits. He’ll execute a facing movement, raise his arthritic hand and render a salute to dad and I. My only hope is that there will be someone to catch us as we collapse.”
| Date Taken: | 01.17.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2020 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 361331 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 672 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Riggs’ tradition one of selfless service, faith in God, by Chuck Cannon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
