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name
MELNIK, John Robert - Date of
birth
13 September 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Vienna, Austria -
Hometown
Berwyn, Cook County, Illinois -
Religion
Jewish
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
36910914 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
G Company,
2nd Battalion,
291st Infantry Regiment,
75th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
6 April 1945 - Place of
death
West of Dortmund, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| I | 4 | 21 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Hedwig (Pion) Melnik (mother)
More information
John Robert Melnik was born in Vienna, Austria as Hans Robert Melnik. He emigrated to the United States on 15 August 1939, sailing with the SS Westernland from Antwerp in Belgium to New York. He resided with his uncle Edward Rubin Melnik in Berwyn, Illinois.He enlisted on 21 August 1944.
His mother, Hedwig Pion, was born in Czechoslovakia and emigrated to the United States on 17 November 1939. She was widowed when she arrived in the US. She married Edward Pion, who was born in Canada, on 19 June 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. But divorced him in the same year. John Robert Melnik was her only son.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, http://75thdivisiondad.com, www.ancestry.com - WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, / Headstone and Interment Record / Naturalization Record
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, 1944 Harrison Technical High School Harrisonian Yearbook - courtesy of Kathy McDermott