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name
EVANSCO, George - Date of
birth
20 April 1920 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Lorain, Lorain County, Ohio -
Hometown
Lorain County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35309036 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
F Company,
2nd Battalion,
424th Infantry Regiment,
106th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
31 December 1944 - Place of
death
In the Manhay area, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 6 | 60 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Michael Evansco (father)
Barbara (Megela) Evansco (mother)
Anna Evansco (sister)
Michael Evansco (brother)
Mary Evansco (sister)
John Evansco (brother)
Bertha Evansco (sister)
More information
Pfc George Evansco enlisted in Cleveland, Ohio on 8 August 1942.Attack on Manhay, Christmas Day 1944
Statement by: T/5 Milton J. Schober:
"So here we were in the early morn of Christmas Day, 1944, digging foxholes as protection against the German onslaught which never came. We dug and anxiously watched the nearby hills for sign of the enemy. Hours passed, nothing happened and we began to wonder if our leadership knew what was going on.
We didn't know it then, but Major General Ridgeway, our corps commander, had ordered Brigadier General Hasbrouck, of the 7th Armored Division, to retake Manhay by darkness on Christmas day! In the mid-afternoon we learned that our 2nd Battalion of the 424th Regiment and units of the 7th Armored Division were selected for this task. We were given no briefing as to objectives or anything else, but merely told to lighten up for the attack, that is, to leave such things as sleeping bags behind to improve our mobillity.
It was late afternoon, in twilight, that we reached the positions from which we were to begin our attack. Word was given for us to emerge from the woods and begin our race downhill across open farmland toward houses along the main highway. As we began our attack and picked up running speed, not a shot was fired by the Germans. Our confidence increased as momentum picked up, and whooping and hollering stated, with the troops firing wildly to the front. It was as if we were playing a game of "Cowboys and Indians." The open area that we were traversing was 300-500 yards in my recollection, and the only cover provided along that route in our area was a sunken farm road cutting across the fields. I remember running down on to the road and up the mound on the other side with barely a pause. Still no fire from the enemy. But then, about 30 yards behind, it started. Rapid fire machine guns began their stutter and traversed the field from my right across my front. It wasn't difficult to spot their source because of their use of tracer bullets whose entire trajectory could be followed.
Forward movement stopped as if by command, and we hit the ground. Thirty or 40 feet ahead my squad leader, Mike Jerosky, was hit as he reached a wire fence 100-150 feet behind the house toward which I was moving. George Evansco, close to Jerosky, also was hit but much more seriously. I'll never forget his screams for a medic followed by the words,"I am dying!"
He was first buried at Block VV, Row 1, Grave 15.
Source of information: André Koch, Peter Schouteten, Carla Mans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Evansco Macartney Family Tree / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, www.ancestry.com - U.S. School Yearbooks - Lorain High School 1936