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WARDLAW, Charles Digby Jr "Dig" - Date of
birth
29 July 1909 -
Age
35 - Place of
birth
Yonkers, Westchester County, New York -
Hometown
Plainfield, Union County, New Jersey
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
42000217 -
Rank
Technician Fifth Grade -
Function
Medical Aidman -
Unit
1st Battalion,
26th Infantry Regiment,
1st Infantry Division,
Medical Detachment
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Died non-Battle - Date of
death
24 June 1945 - Place of
death
France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 14 | 53 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles D. Wardlaw Sr. (father)
Charlotte G. (Colman) Wardlaw (mother)
John W. Wardlaw (brother)
Frederick C. Wardlaw (twin brother)
More information
T/5 Charles D. Wardlaw, Jr graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1932 and served as principal at the family owned Wardlaw School since his graduation.He was an aviator before he joined the National Guard in Newark, New Jersey on 25 June 1943. He was sent overseas in March 1944.
T/5 Wardlaw was wounded in August 1944 at Mortain, France for which he was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. He was hospitalized for six weeks in England and rejoined his unit in October 1944.
He was taken prisoner of war on 26 November 1944 and held at Stalag XII-A in Limburg, Germany. In January 1945, he was transferred to Stalag IV-B at Muhlburg, Germany and liberated by the Russians in April 1945. He was returned to American control, a litter case, on 26 May 1945.
He died in an army hospital in France on 24 June 1945. He succumbed to diphtheria and pneumonia contracted from six months exposure and malnutrition in German prison camps.
He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Champigneul, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record / World War II Prisoners of War Data File, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Oman Family Tree, www.findagrave.com – Tom Reece, www.newspapers.com – The Courier News New Jersey - 5 July 1945 / 12 July 1945
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Andy, www.ancestry.com - Diane Wardlaw