WWII veteran Dallas B. Pigge of Amelia dies

Dallas B. Pigge of Amelia County never forgot the cold and hunger of his six months as a German prisoner of war during World War II.

He also never forgot the elation he felt when an American tank showed up on the banks of the Danube River and liberated Mr. Pigge and his fellow prisoners.

"When he got as far as he could without falling into the water," Mr. Pigge recounted of the U.S. soldier in the tank, "he raised up out of the turret with a pistol in his hand and he said, 'Who's in charge here?'" The guys said, 'That German captain over there.' He had a little talk with the German captain. It was a rather short one. And the captain said, 'OK, all you prisoners can go.' That was the moment of freedom!"

Mr. Pigge, 86, who earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service in the Army's 29th Infantry Division, died Friday after a brief illness.

"He was a wonderful person," said Blanton Dodson, a volunteer with the Amelia Historical Society who interviewed Mr. Pigge about his war service as part of the national Veterans History Project. "We have such great veterans in this county nobody knows anything about. Dallas was amazing. Every time I saw him in the grocery store, I'd get a great big hug."

Times were tough for Mr. Pigge's family when he was growing up in the Great Depression. One of six children, he quit school after eighth grade to get a job. The war came along and ended any thoughts of his returning to school to earn his high school diploma.

However, the county School Board fixed that in 2001 when Mr. Pigge became the first county resident to receive a high school diploma under a state program designed to reward World War II veterans who didn't have a chance to complete their education.

"He never had the opportunity to finish high school, but he was an extremely well-read person," said a daughter, Deborah Davis of Richmond. "I guess you could say he was self-educated. He was not sophisticated, but he was smart and worldly in many other ways. He was an extraordinary individual."

A corporal, Mr. Pigge entered France on the beaches of Normandy shortly after D-Day. His unit pushed on to Belgium, Holland and Germany before he was wounded and captured in October 1944.

After the war, he worked as an auto mechanic for ground-support vehicles at Washington National and Dulles airports before retiring in 1979 and returning to Amelia. His wife of 55 years, Myrtle, died in 1998.

"He was a sweet, sweet man," Davis said. "He was truly the finest parent any child could ever hope for."

In addition to Davis, survivors include another daughter, Beverly Sloan in Nelson County; a granddaughter and two great-grandchildren.

The family will receive visitors today, Sunday, at 2 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church in Amelia, where a funeral will be held at 3 p.m. Burial with full military honors will follow at Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Amelia.

Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or .