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name
PITTS, John Joseph - Date of
birth
10 September 1918 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Evanston, Cook County, Illinois -
Hometown
Mount Hope, McLean County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-417525 -
Rank
Captain -
Function
Battery Commander -
Unit
A Battery,
590th Field Artillery Battalion,
106th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 December 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Schönberg, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 5 | 5 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Joseph J. Pitts (father)
Margaret F. (Leach) Pitts (mother)
Margaret Pitts (sister)
Mary B. Pitts (sister)
Robert D. Pitts (brother)
William C. Pitts (brother)
Thomas A. Pitts (brother)
More information
Capt John J. Pitts attended high school for three years before he enlisted.Artillery fire fell intermittently on the gun positions all afternoon. A Battery was hit the hardest. Capt John Pitts was killed and several others wounded.
Several days before he left Boston for England, John Pitts met his brother Robert who served with the U.S. Navy. Neither knew the other was in Boston. They met only by chance.
Two days before he died, John Pitts met his twin sister, who worked for the Red Cross – stationed in Liège. Upon spotting one of the Division's vehicles in the town she set out to find her brother. It took several days, but on 14 December she arrived at Battalion HQ. The two were able to spend several hours together. Fate allowed few men such last‑minute farewells with their loved ones.
Source of information: Leo Minne, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com – 1920/1930/1940 Census / Headstone and Interment Record/ James Nourse Family Tree, www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/SoThinkMenu/106thSTART.htm
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.newspapers.com - The Pantagraph, www.findagrave.com – Jill/soilsister