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Personal info

Full name
FORD, William Eugene "Bill"
Date of birth
14 August 1925
Age
19
Place of birth
Fair Bluff, Columbus County, North Carolina
Hometown
Florence County, South Carolina

Military service

Service number
34854201
Rank
Private First Class
Function
unknown
Unit
291st Infantry Regiment,
75th Infantry Division
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
12 April 1945
Place of death
In the vicinity of Persenbeck/Menglinghausen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
C 18 2

Immediate family

Members
Alex N. Ford (father)
Mamie C. (Bullock) Ford (mother)
Frances L. Ford (sister)
Sarah L. Ford (sister)
Marguerite Ford (sister)
Diana Ford (sister)

More information

Pfc William E. Ford graduated from Rocky Mount High School and worked on a farm.

He enlisted at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 22 November 1943 and was sent overseas in August 1944.

His commanding officer wrote a letter to his mother, telling her son was struck by a fragment of an enemy artillery shell while in an attack on an enemy position and died almost instantly.

Source of information: André Koch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1930/1940 Census, www.scribd.com, www.newspapers.com - Rocky Mount Telegram

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Chantal Sangers / Hannah Majewski - David Kniphfer