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Personal info

Full name
MERRITHEW, Clifford Levi "Bill"
Date of birth
9 August 1918
Age
26
Place of birth
Canterbury, New Brunswick, Canada
Hometown
Pittsfield, Somerset County, Maine

Military service

Service number
31099872
Rank
Private First Class
Function
Radio Operator
Unit
D Company,
31st Tank Battalion,
7th Armored Division
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
21 January 1945
Place of death
3 miles southeast of Ligneuville, Belgium

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
Plot Row Grave
D 14 22

Immediate family

Members
Leva Merrithew (father)
Edith M. Merrithew (mother)
Verna P. Merrithew (sister)
Stella M. Merrithew (sister)
Leonard G. Merrithew (brother)
Mildred E. Merrithew (sister)
Robert P. Merrithew (brother)
Elisabeth J. Merrithew (sister)
Kathleen Merrithew (sister)

More information

Pfc Merrithew's family emigrated to Maine in 1922. He completed one year at Maine Central Institute. According to stories his sister Mildred shared, Bill was a kind and sweet brother, who would walk her to and from school when she started first grade. Bill enjoyed working with wood and making furniture. He also helped his father on the farm: haying and tending to various gardens.

He worked at the Pioneer Mill and enlisted in Bangor, Maine on 22 May 1942. He was sent overseas in May 1944 and entered France shortly after D-Day.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.7tharmddiv.org, www.ancestry.com - California U.S. Federal Naturalization Records

Photo source: Aimee Fogg, Mildred E. Monahan