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name
UPTON, Benjamin Sylvester - Date of
birth
6 April 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Clemenceau, Yavapai County, Arizona -
Hometown
Spokane, Spokane County, Washington
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
39419451 -
Rank
Private -
Function
Rifleman -
Unit
D Company,
1st Battalion,
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
82nd Airborne Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 September 1944 - Place of
death
Wylerbaan, the Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| L | 10 | 2 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Eldridge H. Upton (father)
Lendora A. (Major) Upton (mother)
Marjorie A. Upton (sister)
Eldridge J. Upton (brother)
Melvin J. Upton (brother)
More information
Pvt Benjamin S. Upton enlisted in Sacramento, California on 12 October 1943.It was while the plantoon was dug-in on the Wylerbaan, which is a small road (mostly behind hedges that were plant along the side of the road) that Pvt Upton was killed with his buddy Tuttle. There was a farm site in front of their position (which was nothing more than a fox hole behind the hedges). It wasn't certain what their target was (probably some enemy movement at the farm site), but they fired a couple of rounds from the Bazooka. A little more than a half a mile to the front was the German Reichwald Forest, which was crawling with German soldiers, tanks and field guns. Apparently a German tank or field gun observed the flash from the bazooka. An 88 mm zeroed in on their position, which received a direct hit setting off the bazooka ammunition that was stored near or in the hole. Needless to say, neither of those two men suffered.
Source of information: www.wwiimemorial.com, www.specialforcesroh.com, www.ancestry.com - U.S. Census Records, 1930 & 1940, Arizona & California, Utah, Military Records, 1861-1970, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, Family Trees-Bennie Sylvester Upton
Photo source: www.specialforcesroh.com, Peter Schouteten