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name
MCCLAIN, James Lyle - Date of
birth
8 May 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana -
Hometown
Marion County, Indiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
20529638 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
180th Infantry Regiment,
45th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
6 January 1945 - Place of
death
Philippsbourg, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 28 | 54 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Lyle E. McClain (father)
Jennie R. (Burkett) McClain (mother)
Juanita (King) McClain (wife)
More information
Pfc James L. McClain received his education at the Knightstown Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans Home and at Arsenal Technical High School before he joined the National Guard in Indianapolis, Indiana on 17 January 1941. He participated in six major engagements at the time of his decoration. Pfc McClain received a citation for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the Sicilian campaign. At the time a private, he was a member of a reconnaissance patrol temporarily put out of commission by enemy tanks. Using some paint thinner found in an abandoned enemy truck, Pvt McClain started a fire near one of the reconnaissance patrol trucks leading the enemy to believe it had been hit. He then returned to an amphibious truck and drove it in reverse through enemy fire for a half mile, the citation sets out.He went missing and was presumed death. At that time his unit was fighting in the vicinity of Philippsbourg. His remains were found afterwards.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Astrid van Erp, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Indiana Birth Certificates, http://www.45thdivision.org, www.newspapers.com - The Indianapolis Nes
Photo source: -