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name
BECKWITH, Jack C - Date of
birth
12 March 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
La Moure County, North Dakota -
Hometown
La Moure County, North Dakota -
Religion
Protestant
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37550296 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
Automatic Rifleman -
Unit
C Company,
1st Battalion,
395th Infantry Regiment,
99th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
unknown - Date of
death
15 December 1944 - Place of
death
Monschau Forest, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 7 | 59 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Norman Beckwith (father)
Verlie B. Beckwith (mother)
Norma J. Beckwith (sister)
More information
Jack Beckwith used the surname Ohnstad until he enlisted. He sang in the church choir and played guard on his high school football team. He wanted to become a minister and spent a semester at Jamestown College.On 15 December 1944 elements of the 99th Infantry Division were dugg in on Hill 627 near the German border. When orders were given to retreat, casualties were quickly buried in four shallow temporary graves.
His remains were found on 17 April 2001 by two Belgians who were part of a MIA Project. He was buried at Henri-Chapelle on 22 June 2002 at his families request.
When the MIA Project began in 1990, two former members of Company C, Vernon Swanson and Byron Whitmarsh, immediately joined the effort. Both men had survived 88 Hill. They invested countless hours collecting information from old company buddies. “Jack Beckwith was my foxhole buddy,” recalled Swanson. “We were out of the foxhole when an 88 shell landed between us. Jack was killed, and I was knocked down by the concussion. Saul Kokotovich was killed the night before by mortar or artillery fire.”
He is remembered at Rosehill Cemetery in LaMoure, North Dakota.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, http://www.in-honored-glory.info/, www.findagrave.com, http://www.miaproject.net/mia-search-recoveries/88-hill/
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - U.S. School Yearbook