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name
WEEMS, Winfred E "Snooks" - Date of
birth
6 May 1918 -
Age
26 -
Place of birth
Commerce, Hunt County, Texas -
Hometown
Commerce, Hunt County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
20817930 -
Rank
Corporal -
Function
unknown -
Unit
C Company,
111th Engineer Combat Battalion,
36th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
31 January 1945 - Place of
death
Bilwisheim, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 15 | 20 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Odis E. Weems (father)
Mary O. (Stooksberry) Weems (mother)
Overtura Weems (sister)
Norma L. Weems (sister)
John F. Weems (brother)
Jo Ann Weems (sister)
Freda F. Weems (sister)
More information
Cpl Winfred E. Weems attended East Texas State Teachers College when he joined the National Guard at Majors Field, Texas on 25 November 1940.On Wednesday 31 January 1945 Cpl Winfred E. Weems was working with 6 men of his unit to clear mines, planted by an American unit The following is from the Company C diary on that day.
The final mention of mine work with the battalion for January ends on another somber tone. Company C sent a mine detector crew in a three-quarter ton weapons carrier to the 131st Field Artillery to sweep for mines. Eleven anti-tank mines and A-1 American mines were removed. The fuses were frozen in the mines and the detector crew loaded them on the truck and brought them back to the Battalion dump in Bilwisheim. On the way back to the company area they picked up two men from their company who had been to the showers in Bilwisheim. After all had arrived at the Battalion Supply Dump in Bilwisheim an explosion occurred killing all eight of the men instantaneously with the exact cause of the detonation unknown.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, https://36th-id.frb.io, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / WWII Draft Cards Young Men / David Egerton / Weems Family Tree, www.findagrave.com – Paula and Dale
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Andy / Paula and Dale