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name
COUCH, Vance Lee - Date of
birth
23 August 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Soda Springs, Caribou County, Idaho -
Hometown
Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35171515 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
HQ Company,
3rd Battalion,
347th Infantry Regiment,
87th Infantry Division,
Anti-Tank Platoon
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
6 January 1945 - Place of
death
Bonnerue, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| F | 3 | 21 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Elno F. Couch (father)
Goldie C. (Marley) Couch (mother)
Crystal L. Couch (sister)
Benjamin F. Couch (brother)
Maxine M. Couch (sister)
Iresa M. Couch (sister)
Pauline (Saunders) Couch (wife)
Elaine C. Couch (daughter)
More information
Pvt Vance L. Couch was a driver before he enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, on 14 November 1941. He was sent overseas in December 1944.He met Pauline Saunders whole he was stationed in Boston.
His company commander wrote a letter to his parents from which this is an extract: "At the time, Vance was a member of a crew manning and anti-tank gun. Tanks were reported entering the town and Vance disregarded his own safety by running to man his post, the first man to reach the gun. He was able to fire a round at one tank before another tank knocked out the gun, before the other members of the crew had reached their posts. Vance was fatally injured and died instantly."
He was first buried at the the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Grand Failly, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Furnish Brown Family Tree / 1930 Census / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, www.87thinfanterydivision.com, www.newspapers.com - Palladium Item 27 January 1945
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, the Union City Times-Gazette 27 September 1945 - courtesy of Kathy McDermott