Born: December 4, 1916
Private First Class, United States Army Service# 39682762 24TH ARMORED ENGINEER BATTALION,
4TH ARMORED DIVISION, III CORPS Date of Enlistment: March 9, 1942
Home or Place of Enlistment: Squirrel, Idaho Died: December 25, 1944 Buried: Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg Killed in Action while conducting combat operations against
Nazi Germany during the Battle of the Bulge. |
The 4TH ARMORED DIVISION is awarded the
FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE WITH PALMawarded under Decision No. 270, 22 July 1946, by the President of the
Provisional Government of the French Republic, with the following citation: A magnificent unit possessing the highest military virtues. During the furious combat of 27 to 30 July 1944, the unit broke the German defense and captured Coutance, then the key position of Avranches. It immediately exploited the Break-through by a maneuver of great boldness, it plunged into the break of the enemy’s rear lines. In less than 10 days, the unit decisively overcame the German counterattacks, freed Rennes, Vannes, and Nantes and confined the enemy to Lorient. Continuing its advance on a 300-kilometer front, it reached the Loire and seized Nantes on 11 August 1944. Its crushing action largely contributed to the success of the campaign in France.
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