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name
COOLEN, Wilfred Dean - Date of
birth
26 September 1915 -
Age
28 - Place of
birth
Fox Point, Lunenburg Co., Nova Scotia, Canada -
Hometown
Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31429517 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
33rd Armored Regiment,
3rd Armored Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 September 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Stolberg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 11 | 5 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Grace E. Coolen (mother)
Ena Coolen (wife)
Sharon Coolen (daughter)
Sharleen Coolen (daughter)
More information
Pvt Wilfred D. Coolen's twin daughter recalled: "Our father Dean (his preferred name) was born September 26, 1915, in Nova Scotia. He loved basketball and music and lit up any room he entered with his outgoing personality. He graduated from Woburn High School and put himself through business school while working 2 part time jobs; all while supporting his widowed mother.He and our mother Ena married November 9, 1940. Our mother and us along with both widowed maternal and paternal grandmothers lived in the same 2 story apartment during the war so the women could help one another.
He enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 5 January 1944.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Enlistment / 1930 Census
Photo source: Sharon and Sharleen Coolen