Lieutenant Virgil F. Bobb

The Tribune
Seymour, Indiana
Tuesday, January 30, 1945
Page 3

Seymour Soldier Winns Battle Bars

With the 78th "Lightning" division in Germany - (Special to the Tribune) - Second Lieutenant Virgil F. Bobb, whose wife, Mrs. Margaret Bobb, lives at 628 Chestnut Street, Seymour, Indiana, is one of the first twenty soldiers to win a battlefield commission in the 78th Infantry Division, now fighting on the Ninth Army front in Germany.

Lt. Bobb, a former technical sergeant in the 309th Infantry Regiment, displayed outstanding leadership as a non-commissioned officer in battle against the Nazis, to win his direct commission.

Major General Edwin P. Parker, Jr., the "Lightning" Division commander, pinned the new lieutenant's bars on Bobb and congratulated him. He told Lt. Bobb that winning a commission on the field of battle was one of the highest honors a soldier could receive.

Mr. and Mrs. John A. Bobb, his parents, live on Seymour R3.

The Tribune
Seymour, Indiana
Thursday, March 22, 1945
Page 1

LT. VIRGIL F. BOBB

Lieutenant Virgil F. Bobb, husband of Mrs. Marguerite Bobb, 628 South Chestnut street, was killed in action in Germany on March 2. Lt. Bobb, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Bobb, Seymour R3, was commissioned on the field of battle about two months ago. He is the father of a two-months-old son, Stephen Frederick, whom he had never seen.

The Tribune
Seymour, Indiana
Monday, March 19, 1945
Page 1

Young Officer Gives LIfe on Western Front

Lt. Virgil F. Bobb Was Commissioned on Field of Battle-Was Member of 9th Army

Second Lieutenant Virgil F. Bobb, who received the high honor of being commissioned on the field of battle about two months ago, was killed in action March 2 in Germany, according to word received Saturday afternoon by his wife, Mrs. Marguerite Bobb, 628 South Chestnut street. Mrs. Bobb had received a War Department message just the night before, saying that her husband was missing in action. In less than twenty-four hours the telegram telling of his death was received.

Lt. Bobb, who was twenty-five years old, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Bobb, Seymour R3. He was married June 8, 1941 to Marguerite Shirley, of Crothersville. They were the parents of an infant son, Stephen Frederick, age two months, whom he had never seen.

Lt. Bobb was a member of the Emanuel Lutheran Church at Dudleytown and attended the Dudleytown school. He was well-liked by a host of friends in Seymour and Dudleytown who are shocked to hear of his death.

Assigned To Infantry.

Lt. Bobb was inducted into the army in September, 1942, and received training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, Camp Butner, N.C., Camp Pickett, Virginia. He was on maneuvers in Tennessee and South Carolina also, and when sent overseas, was assigned to an infantry division of the Ninth Army. Prior to his induction he was emploted at the Seymour Woolen Mills.

Formerly a technical sergeant in his infantry division, Lt. Bobb, because of his outstanding leadership as a non-commissioned officer, won his direct commission on the field.

Major General Edwin P. Parker, Jr., the "Lightning" Division commander, pinned the new lieutenant's bars on him, according to a release which was sent special to the Tribune at the time of Lt. Bobb's commission, ad congratulated him, telling him that winning a commission on the field of battle was "one of the highest honors a soldier could receive."

Besides his parents, widow and infant son, Lt. Bobb is survived by two brothers and two sisters; Omer Bobb, Crotherville, R1; Mrs. LeRoy Osterman, 718 West Fifth street; Ralph Bobb and Mrs. J.J. Scifres, at home.