Alumni Hall of Fame
Military Service to Country (2024)

Orvil E. Sweigart was a member of the St. Marys Memorial High School Class of 1935. Orvil worked at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in metal fabrications. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 7, 1942, at Camp Perry in Lacarne, Ohio, and was assigned to the 82nd Infantry Division and trained at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The 82nd was chosen to become the first airborne division created in WWII, under the command of Major General Omar N. Bradley. The Division was split to form a second Division, the 101st. General Bradley informed the soldiers that both divisions would be airborne, and the 327th would be trained as a Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR). 

Staff Sergeant Sweigart was transferred to the 327th GIR in August 1942. There, he trained at what was formerly named Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in a CG-4a Glider (CG – Cargo Glider). The CG-4a was made of plywood, cloth, and steel tubing and was designed as a means of silent transport behind enemy lines, to fly low and avoid radar, to deliver troops and supplies, and to land in tight spaces. It was manned by a pilot, co-pilot, and thirteen Glidermen. The Glider could also carry equipment including a Jeep, a 75 mm howitzer, a mini-bulldozer, medical equipment, and supplies. The Glider was towed by a C-46 or C-47 at 150 mph and then cut loose to glide to the ground in a precise and controlled descent. It did not have an engine so it carried no fuel. It also had no way to defend itself, limited maneuverability, and no means of evading enemy fire.

The Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) was sent to Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base in Maxton, North Carolina, in December 1942 for an intense, two-month training exercise. The airborne and Glider units were considered overall the best-trained troops in the Army. There was a rivalry between the paratroopers and Glidermen because paratroopers received a parachute badge, extra pay, and wore a distinctive uniform and had highly prized jump boots. Glidermen did not have any of these, even though paratroopers thought the Glider ride was far worse than a parachute jump.

The 327th GIR departed New York in September 1943 and landed at Liverpool, England. They continued to train at Camp Ranikhet and were given the code name “Keepsake.” Training exercises included parachute jumps, Glider landings, and supply drops. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General Dwight Eisenhower watched a demonstration jump by the 101st Airborne Division – including the 327th GIR - in March 1944 at Welford Airfield in England. In June 1944, the decision was made to drop both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions simultaneously into Normandy. As a result, this limited the number of Gliders that could be towed behind available aircraft. Some of the 327th GIR were assigned to a Glider while others were ordered to land on Utah Beach with the 4th Infantry Division on D-Day. On June 6, 1944, the 3rd Battalion of the 327th GIR reached the beach just after noon, marched to just south of La Barqette Locks, and then began its way toward Carentan. Their objective was to cut off fleeing Germans and secure the Peninsula. The unit suffered heavy casualties from concealed German machine guns and mortars while advancing on Carentan. Staff Sergeant Sweigart was wounded and succumbed to his wounds on June 18, 1944. He is buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Plot C, Row 2, Grave 10, in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Staff Sergeant Sweigart was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the WW II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Marksmanship Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the American Campaign Medal, the Army Presidential Unit Citation, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

Staff Sergeant Orvil E. Sweigart was survived by his wife, Leona, his parents, a brother - Corporal Carter E. Sweigart, and three sisters. Corporal Carter Sweigart was killed just two weeks after the end of World War II.

For his courage, skill, and dedication as a highly trained Gliderman, for being part of the historic D-Day landing at Utah Beach in the Battle of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country, the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation inducts Staff Sergeant Orvil E. Sweigart into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame for Military Service to Country.