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name
COWAN, Howard Newton - Date of
birth
18 December 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio -
Hometown
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35681761 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized),
6th Armored Division,
B Troop
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
8 January 1945 - Place of
death
South of Bastogne, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| H | 11 | 11 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Howard N. Cowan (father)
Elsie Cowan (mother)
More information
Pvt Howard N. Cowan was a graduate of Withrow High School. He was an elevator operator before he enlisted in Cincinnati, Ohio on 6 January 1943. He was sent overseas in September 1944.Without any tank support, B Troop was ordered to attack a dug-in German position in the woods east and just south of Bastogne. The attack failed and it suffered ten men killed and seventeen wounded. Eventually it took a much stronger force to drive the enemy from the woods.
He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Grand Failly, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com - Orville L. Kline, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men / 1930 Census, www.findagrave.com, www.super6th.org, www.newspapers.com - The Cincinnati Enquirer 16 March 1945
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Withrow High School - 1939