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Personal info

Full name
BARNES, William T
Date of birth
1919
Age
unknown
Place of birth
Colorado
Hometown
La Jara, Conejos County, Colorado

Military service

Service number
O-424341
Rank
Captain
Function
unknown
Unit
1st Battalion,
157th Infantry Regiment,
45th Infantry Division
Awards
Silver Star,
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Died of Injuries
Date of death
22 March 1945
Place of death
Near Kirberg, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
E 14 37

Immediate family

Members
Perry R. Barnes (father)
Ethel J. Barnes (mother)
Betty J. Barnes (sister)

More information

Capt William T. Barnes, with Commander Maj Charles Edwards and several enlisted men, was investigating a manned cave on 20 March 1945 South of Kirberg, Germany where thousands of liters of gasoline had been placed. When one of the men fired into the pillbox the gasoline exploded and sheets of flame enveloped the group, burning Captain Barnes and three others seriously. Barnes died two days later.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record, http://www.45thdivision.org, https://books.google.nl
Photo source: -