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name
CRAIG, William Henry - Date of
birth
25 May 1918 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine -
Hometown
Bingham, Somerset County, Maine
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-022680 -
Rank
Lieutenant Colonel -
Function
Battalion Commander -
Unit
Headquarters,
3rd Battalion,
423rd Infantry Regiment,
106th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Silver Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
19 December 1944 - Place of
death
Büdesheim/Eifel, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 8 | 5 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Horace J. Craig (father)
Effie J. (Robinson) Craig (mother)
John S. Craig (brother)
Evelyn Q. (Gibbon) Craig (wife)
John H. Craig (son)
William H. Craig Jr. (son)
More information
Lt Col William H. Craig graduated from Bingham High School in 1935 and was a graduate of the University of Maine in 1940.The 1st and 2nd Battalions were moved into positions in rear of their 3rd Battalion, 423rd Infantry Regiment, by daylight on 19 December. All efforts to establish contact with the 422nd Infantry Regiment on the right failed. At 08.30 hours Battalion Commanders were assembled and orders issued for the attack on Schönberg at 10.00 Hours. At 09.30 hours heavy artillery concentrations started falling on the entire regimental area. This heavy German artillery fire mortally wounded Lt Col Craig and killed Captain James H. Hardy, commanding M Company.
According to German records, Lt Col Craig died of wounds in the chest and thighs in Feldlazarett 257 that was stationed in the schoolhouse in Büdesheim/Eifel at that time. He was initially buried at the nearby cemetery.
His remains were disinterred in September 1947 and evacuated to Ardennes Cemetery where he was reburied in a temporary grave on 18 September 1947. He was given his final resting place in April 1949.
The picture was taken in college in 1940.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.heroesforever.nl/, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Family Trees / Maine Birth Index / Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014, IDPF
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, University of Maine 1940