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name
COTE, Clarence J "Butchie" - Date of
birth
30 March 1920 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Maine -
Hometown
Kennebec County, Maine
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31216546 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
120th Infantry Regiment,
30th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Died of Wounds - Date of
death
24 October 1944 - Place of
death
Arnoldsweiler, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 2 | 34 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles E. Cote (father)
Eva M. (Deag) Cote (mother)
Arthur Cote (brother)
May Cote (sister)
Kathleen R. (Wiles) Cote (wife)
More information
Clarence J. Cote was a construction worker.He enlisted in Portland, Maine on 12 November 1942.
He was taken prisoner of war on 11 October 1944 when his unit was fighting in the vicinity of Aachen, Germany. According to a German casualty report he suffered from a bullet wound in the arm, above the elbow and a graze bullet wound of the rear rib area on the left side with fracture of several ribs. He died in a dressing station in Arnoldsweiler, Germany.
He was initially buried at the Memorial Cemetery of Düren in the section for POW's.
From Judy Wiles: "Our Clarence who went by the name Butchie, was married to my husband's aunt Rowena Wiles on 26 March 1943. Stationed in France, he was shot in the hip and eventually captured by the Germans. Because he had been wounded, he could not keep up with the march. His buddies carried him as much as possible but he was still slowing down progress. Therefore, the enemy stopped beside the road and shot him."
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com, www.30thinfantry.org,
Bert Herman Wiles Family Tree, 1930 Census, Judy Wiles, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/18238601 - page 249
Photo source: Jac Engels, The Bangor Daily News - 7 May 1945