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Personal info

Full name
MITCHELL, William E
Date of birth
6 May 1923
Age
21
Place of birth
Michigan
Hometown
Wayne County, Michigan

Military service

Service number
36565414
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
unknown
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
60th Infantry Regiment,
9th Infantry Division
Awards
Silver Star,
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
24 January 1945
Place of death
Konzen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
C 16 31

Immediate family

Members
Edward F. Mitchell (father)
Alberta Mitchell (mother)

More information

S/Sgt William E. Mitchell enlisted in Detroit, Michigan on 30 January 1943.

He landed in France across Utah Beach on 11 June 1944 as a Private First Class. He engaged in his first battle on 14 June in the Hedgerows of Normandy. During the Normandy Campaign he was wounded in action for the first time. It is unknown when he returned to action again, but he was back in the line on 10 October 1944 where he engaged in action in the Hürtgen Forest. It was here that he received the Bronze Star medal. On this day, A Company was engaged in the heavy forest with German Tanks and several enemy pillboxes. William E. Mitchell continued to serve with the 60th Infantry Regiment until his death. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal for this action and additionally received the Combat Infantryman's Badge on 3 July 1944.

Source of information: Danny Dohmen, Laura Phillips, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / 1940 Census, www.wwiimemorial.com

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - U.S. School Yearbooks Detroit Michigan