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name
VAN DE CARR, Clarence Butler - Date of
birth
31 July 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York -
Hometown
North Chatham, Columbia County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
32747444 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
B Company,
60th Engineer Combat Battalion,
35th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
10 October 1944 - Place of
death
Ajoncourt, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 18 | 30 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Roy B. Van De Carr (father)
Ruth (Cantine) Van De Carr (mother)
More information
Pfc Clarence B. Van de Carr was employed on a farm before he enlisted in Albany, New York on 8 February 1943.On the night of 10 October 1944, B Company suffered the loss of 47 men in an explosion of anti-tank mines at Ajoncourt, France. The third and elements of the first platoon were engaged in a night mine laying operation just north of the town. The squad trucks loaded with mines were parked at a point just south of the town and the mines were being fused and unloaded from the trucks and carried to the mine field. At approximately 2300, a terrific explosion from the leading truck which was loaded with mines caused a sympathetic detonation of a nearby truck load of mines and mines stacked on the ground nearby. Approximately 1,500 mines in all exploded. The entire area immediately became an inferno of exploding mines, small arms ammunition and burning vehicles.
He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Andilly, France.
He is remembered at the Stuyvesant Falls Cemetery in Stuyvesant Falls, Columbia County, New York.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men / Sarah Youngmann Family Tree, After Action Report 35th Infantry Division, www.findagrave.com – Elsie Scharpf Saar
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Elsie Scharpf Saar