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name
TELFORD, Dwight Earl - Date of
birth
29 August 1913 -
Age
31 - Place of
birth
Walnut Hill, Marion County, Illinois -
Hometown
Centralia, Marion County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
36038057 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tank Commander -
Unit
B Company,
40th Tank Battalion,
7th Armored Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 September 1944 - Place of
death
Lorry-les-Metz, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| G | 8 | 34 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Earl Telford (father)
Emma M. (Copple) Telford (mother)
Alden G. Telford (brother)
Raymond Telford (brother)
Bonnie J. Telford (sister)
Olanda (Gheradini) Telford (wife)
More information
S/Sgt Dwight E. Telford was employed by the Hollywood Candy Company.He enlisted in Chicago, Illinois on 18 June 1941.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroic achievements. During a troop movement they escaped from the enemy on a highway under attack. Under continous fire he managed to move the tank in reverse to a comparative place of safety, even though the tank had been hit two times from German heavy mortar shells. With the tanks crippled transmission, he was compelled to move backwards. He and the tank crew used all of the tanks ammunition in their evacuation.
He is remembered at the Hillcrest Memorial Park in Centralia, Marion County, Illinois.
Source of information: André Koch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1920/1930/1940 Census / Headstone and Interment Record / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, www.7tharmddiv/org
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - The Shorts, www.ancestry.com - U.S. School Yearbooks, Centralia, Illinois, 1932