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name
VASQUEZ, Mike Rios - Date of
birth
17 June 1913 -
Age
31 - Place of
birth
Lerdo, Durango, Mexico -
Hometown
Kanopolis, Ellsworth County, Kansas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37503320 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
unknown -
Unit
A Company,
312th Engineer Combat Battalion,
87th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
11 January 1945 - Place of
death
Libramont-Chevigny, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| F | 11 | 7 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Pablo Vasquez (father)
Ines (Rios) Vasquez (mother)
Albert Vasquez (brother)
Jacinto Vasquez (brother)
Antonette Vasquez (sister)
Mary L. (Jacobs) Vasquez (wife)
Lorenza M. Vasquez (daughter)
More information
Chemists and engineers knew that the explosives used in the mines placed by engineers could explode if they became too cold. The army thus did not want to use the mines during winter. However, they had not planned on fighting in December 1944.24 members of the 312 ECB were inside a building receiving instructions about the mines, when the material exploded, destroying the buildings the men were in and two nearby buildings to the left. The explosion was to be heard seven miles away.
S/Sgt Mike R. Vasquez was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Grand Failly, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.findagrave.com, www.wwiimemoral.com, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Gomer Family Tree / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, www.87thinfantrydivision.com
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - Jeff Gomer