The only American KIA on Lanzerath Hill. (Helmet) (2025)

T/5 (Corporal) Billy Scott Queen,

Forward Observer, C Battery, 371st Field Artillery Battalion (105mm), 99th Infantry Division.

December 16, 1944.

Not long ago, we received a very special item: the helmet of Corporal Billy S. Queen. This helmet was discovered on May 19, 2013, on Lanzarath Hill, at the exact location where Corporal Queen lost his life on December 16, 1944. The helmet, a 1943 McCord model, was found in remarkably good condition, buried deep in a foxhole. Inside the MSA helmet liner, the last four digits of Corporal Queen's army laundry number, (Q)-2420, remain visible.

Billy Scott Queen, aged 24, was born in Wayne County, West Virginia. He was transferred to the 371st Field Artillery Battalion of the 99th Infantry Division when the Army Specialized Training Program was curtailed under the assumption that the war was “about over.” A highly intelligent individual, Queen was a member of a Forward Observation team that joined the 394th Infantry I&R Platoon on Lanzerath Hill on December 16, 1944. The platoon, led by 20-year-old First Lieutenant Lyle J. Bouck Jr., would later be recognized as the most decorated platoon of the U.S. Army in WWII.

In the early hours of December 16, 1944, the heavy German artillery barrage for Operation Wacht am Rhein struck Lanzerath Hill, though the village of Lanzarath itself was largely spared. The road through Lanzerath (Rollbahn D) served as an advance route for the LSSAH. Later that day, Kampfgruppe Peiper’s column passed along this road. Following the initial barrage, a battalion from the 3rd Fallschirmjäger Division, under Colonel Von Hofmann, moved toward the positions held by the I&R Platoon. Corporal Queen and the Forward Observation team joined the platoon and departed Lanzerath.

German troops, advancing in columns along the road, encountered resistance at some point and they launched a frontal assault on the wooded ridgeline but were repelled by the small contingent of American soldiers. A second attack met a similar fate. Uncertain of the size or strength of the U.S. forces, the Germans could not advance. The Forward Observation team participated in the firefight as infantrymen.

Later in the afternoon, before nightfall, the German forces launched a flanking maneuver through the woods that caught the U.S. position by surprise. During this attack, Corporal Billy Queen was shot in the stomach. Without access to medical care, Queen succumbed to his injuries. His frozen body remained on the hillside until the area was retaken by American forces weeks later.

There is some controversy regarding the circumstances of Queen’s death. While some claim he was shot in the back while attempting to flee the dugout, his comrade Joseph McConnell refutes this. McConnell recalls: “I told Queen to stay down, but he couldn’t. He had to get up and see what he was shooting at. Then a shot hit him in the chest. They say he was shot in the back. That’s a lot of baloney. I saw him die. He got shot in the chest and dropped down.”

Fellow soldiers believed that Queen’s placement on the front lines was a misuse of his talents. Sergeant Peter Gacki remarked, “Queen would have been better suited somewhere he could use his education. He was very intelligent, always carried a slide rule, and could solve any puzzle you gave him. He looked so harmless—wore spectacles, had curly hair, and was just this chubby, nice guy.”

Corporal Queen was the only American soldier “Killed in Action” on Lanzarath Hill that day. His body, covered by snow, remained in the dugout until early 1945, when it was recovered. He was temporarily buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery before being reinterred in West Virginia. The other members of the team were captured and taken to Lanzerath.

Posthumous Silver Star Medal Awarded for Gallantry in Action

Under the provisions of AR 600-45, dated 22 September 1943, as amended, and Circular 6, Headquarters Third United States Army, dated 26 April 1944, the Silver Star is awarded posthumously to the following:

Technician Fifth Grade Billy S. Queen, 35642420, 371st Field Artillery Battalion, United States U.S. Army.

For gallantry in action against the enemy on 16 December 1944 in Germany. Technician Fifth Grade Queen was a member of a Forward Observation party cut off from their infantry unit by a heavy enemy counterattack. Despite this, they continued to call for artillery fire against wave after wave of attacking enemies until their radio was disabled. As the situation became desperate, Technician Fifth Grade Queen manned a nearby machine gun and engaged the enemy until he was killed by enemy fire.

The courage and gallantry displayed by Technician Fifth Grade Queen reflect great credit upon himself and the finest traditions of the Armed Forces of the United States. He entered military service from West Virginia, residence General Delivery, Crum, West Virginia.

(Interviews with Joseph McConnell and Peter Gacki. Source: “The Longest Winter by Alex Kershaw’’. Edited by Robbert Morsink and Gerard Overweg.)

Billy Scott Queen

Detail Section C-371st Billy S Queen in cirkel

Situation I&R Platoon