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Personal info

Full name
BARNETT, Virgil Ivan
Date of birth
3 October 1922
Age
22
Place of birth
Tennessee
Hometown
Gordon County, Georgia

Military service

Service number
34947044
Rank
Private
Function
unknown
Unit
A Company,
21st Armored Infantry Battalion,
11th Armored Division
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
5 March 1945
Place of death
Kyll River near Oberbettingen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
Plot Row Grave
H 13 15

Immediate family

Members
John E. Barnett (father)
Lula H. (Whitner) Barnett (mother)
Lily M. Barnett (sister)
Levi L. Barnett (brother)
Gertrude M. Barnett (sister)
William C. Barnett (brother)
Cora M. Barnett (sister)
Bertha J. Barnett (sister)
M.C. Barnett (brother)
Lois Barnett (sister)
L.C. Barnett (brother)
Easlee B. Barnett (sister)
Irene (Goss) Barnett (wife)

More information

A bridge over the river had been blown but two companies managed to pick their way across on the smashed spans. About 200 yards beyond the bridge was a cliff where 75 to 100 snipers fired on the infantry, forcing them back.
Artillery and tank fire rained down on the enemy positions but the Germans would not submit. After dark, the battalion mounted a frontal and flanking attack that finally dislodged the Germans. The 21st battalion lost 14 men killed and 39 wounded.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.11tharmoreddivision.com, www.ancestry.com

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.11tharmoreddivision.com,