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name
MITCHELL, Robert Mazyck - Date of
birth
16 October 1915 -
Age
28 -
Place of birth
Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina -
Hometown
Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-1287040 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
unknown -
Unit
I Company,
3rd Battalion,
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
-
Awards
Soldier's Medal,
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
19 September 1944 - Place of
death
Roadblock at Hotel Spijker
Beek, the Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| K | 9 | 7 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Alexander R. Mitchell (father)
Mary M. (Lucas) Mitchell (mother)
Mary Mitchell (halfsister)
Harriett Mitchell (halfsister)
Ann R. Mitchell (halfsister)
Margaret Mitchell (halfsister)
Allston T. Mitchell (halfbrother)
Ellison C. Mitchell (halfbrother)
Hume L. Mitchell (brother)
Lewis S. Mitchell (brother)
Elizabeth T. (Snellings) Mitchell (wife)
Alexander R. Mitchell III (son)
More information
Statement from S/Sgt James C. "Buck" Hutto, 82nd Airborne Division, 508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Company I:"I lost some of my best friends in Holland. My squad leader and assistant squad leader were killed, along with many others. Lt Mitchell, from Greenville, died almost as soon as we hit the ground in Holland. A horrible death - a bullet hit his white phosphorus grenade that hung on his belt and detonated it. The powder never stops burning. He was covered with it. A slow, terrible death...."
He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Soldier's medal for the part he played in helping capture Ste. Mere Eglise, France. He also was awarded the Purple Heart Medal a first time for wounds, sustained in Normandy.
1st Lt Robert M. Mitchell was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery of Molenhoek, the Netherlands on 20 September 1944.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.marketgarden.com, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees / Headstone and Interment Record, www.newspapers.com - The Greenville News
Photo source: www.marketgarden.com, Gerrie Franken - SOHE