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Personal info

Full name
MULLEN, Clarence Leroy
Date of birth
16 September 1915
Age
29
Place of birth
Shelby County, Ohio
Hometown
Shelby County, Ohio

Military service

Service number
35135309
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
unknown
Unit
325th Glider Infantry Regiment,
82nd Airborne Division
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
29 September 1944
Place of death
Kiekberg Woods, Holland

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
A 12 14

Immediate family

Members
Clay C. Mullen (father)
Leona G. Mullen (mother)
Elnora V. Mullen (sister)
Mabel E. Mullen (sister)
Goldie L. Mullen (sister)
Norma R. Mullen (sister)
Charles E. Mullen (brother)
Doris E. Mullen (sister)
Thelma J. Mullen (sister)
Jessie A. Mullen (sister)

More information

S/Sgt Clarence L. Mullen enlisted in Fort Thomas Newport, Kentucky on 19 March 1942.

The following is a brief report from James Ralph, who served with the 325th GIR : "On, or about 28 September, we were directed to clean out a contingency of Germans who were well entrenched on a densely wooded hillside, called the Kiekberg Woods. Three quarters of the way up the hill the enemy was dug in an camouflaged so effectively as to be nearly invisible. My unit was on the right flank advancing up the slope until we were within 20 feet of their foxholes. We couldn't see them unless a black helmet came out of the ground for couple of seconds. The mortar fire was particularly devastating since many of the rounds exploded in the trees, showering shrapnel over a wide area. Word was passed through the ranks that our Company Command Post had been hit, wiping it out".
Clarence was first declared missing in action and which was later changed to killed in action. His parent’s received the following information according to military records: “On September 29, 1944, Sgt Mullen participated in an attack on the enemy in the Kiekberg Woods, Holland. Enemy opposition was encountered and your son was seen to be injured. However, enemy gunfire prevented his evacuation and he was not subsequently seen or heard from. Full consideration has been given to all available information bearing on the absence of your son. In view of the fact that twelve months have now expired without the receipt of evidence to support a continued presumption of survival, the War Department must terminate such absence by a presumptive finding of death. In the case of your son, this date has been set as September 30, 1945.”
Later records indicate that his body was recovered and is buried in the American Cemetery at Margraten, the Netherlands.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record

Photo source: Anthony Nouens, Jo Smeets