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Personal info

Full name
GALAYDA, Charles Jr
Date of birth
15 July 1917
Age
27
Place of birth
Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Hometown
Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania

Military service

Service number
33174559
Rank
Private First Class
Function
unknown
Unit
39th Infantry Regiment,
9th Infantry Division
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
23 December 1944
Place of death
Limburg an der Lahn, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 40 27

Immediate family

Members
Charles Galayda (father)
Bertha Galayda (mother)
Micheal Galayda (brother)
John Galayda (brother)
Elizabeth Galayda (sister)
Andrew Galayda (brother)
Rudolph Galayda (brother)
Edith M. Galayda (sister)

More information

Pfc Charles Galayda Jr. enlisted at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland on 14 March 1942.

He was taken prisoner in the vicinity of Hürtgen, Germany on 10 October 1944.

He died in Stalag XII-A during a British night air raid. The intented target was the railway station in Diez, but some flares, dropped by the pathfinder aircraft, drifted off course in a strong wind and strayed into the POW camp. The bombs of RAF Mosquitos did not miss the highlighted target of a concrete building, housing mostly medical personnel.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com - Edith M. Stravinsky (sister), www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Veteran Compensation Application File

Photo source: Jac Engels, www.wwiimemorial.com - Edith M. Stravinsky (sister)