Scott Riley (3 Juny 1924-) was a US Army corporal who served in the 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division during World War II under the command of Steve Foley and Gregory Moody
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born on June 3, 1924 in Wichita,KansasUSA. Like many Americans of those years, he was brought up in the family of a World War I veteran. In 1943, he volunteered for the 101st Airborne Division. At Camp Toccoa met Steve Anderson and Jack Whitney.
Battle of the Bulge[]
On December 26, 1944, Riley, as part of the 101st Airborne Division, fought in Bastogne, Belgium and received orders from Moody to explore the area with a patrol, but the patrol came across a Tiger tank, all except Riley and Private Ender were killed. Having miraculously reached the headquarters by jeep, Moody and Riley received orders from Foley to help repel the rest of the paratroopers from a massive German attack. Riley covered the paratroopers with grenade launcher, machine gun and sniper fire and in the end the paratroopers waited for help from the air
January 13, 1945, the paratroopers receive an order to capture the intersection at night, preparing for an attack on the town of Foy that morning, making their way through the machine-gun lights of the Germans, the paratroopers reached the intersection, but sudd Paraenly a tank and a self-propelled gun leave, Riley receives an order from Moody to destroy them. After the successful completion of the task, the captains talk about the morning attack on the city of Foy
The next morning, Riley's unit took part in the attack on Foy and eliminated several key targets in the battle, destroying Tiger tanks and breaking off several counterattacks launched to Foy by the Germans. He and his units were accompanied by tanks from 11th Armored Division; however, the tanks were destroyed by the Germans by the time they reached Noville
Two days later, as Cpl. Riley and the 101st pushed through Noville, they used a building as their "Alamo" against a large counterattack of Panzer's, Halftracks, and German Panzergrenadier's of 2nd Panzer Division until P-47s arrived to finish the job.
Later life[]
After the war, he returned home to the states and got a job as a college teacher. Though late, he met his future wife and raised two sons with her. Until a very old age, Riley often visited fellow soldiers.