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name
BLOCK, Lawrence "Larry" - Date of
birth
4 January 1921 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California -
Hometown
San Francisco County, California
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
19082844 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
12th Infantry Regiment,
4th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Died non-Battle - Date of
death
30 March 1945 - Place of
death
The hospital of Stalag XI-A
Altengrabow, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Lawrence Block (father)
Edith Block (mother)
Hyman Ellentuch (stepfather)
Marvin Ellentuck (half-brother)
Faye M. (Warmack) Block (wife)
Yvonne Chicarella (stepdaughter)
More information
Pfc Lawrence Block graduated from Petaluma High School and attended one year of college.He enlisted in San Francisco, California on 10 February 1942.
He was taken prisoner of war, on 17 December 1944 in the vicinity of Echternach, Luxembourg. His POW number was 094 532/XI A and held prisoner in Stalag III-A in Luckenwalde, Germany.
He and other American POW´s were trading goods, mostly food with other POW´s from other camps nearby and were caught on their way back to their own camp. Lawrence was shot in the abdoment in the night of 29-30 March while allegedly attempting to escape, according to a German guard Paul Buch. He was immediately treated by a Soviet doctor and taken to the prison hospital where he died at 0240 hours.
He was buried at the cemetery of Altengrabow on 2 April 1945 in grave # 361.
According to a report of the American Graves Registration Command, a disintering team disinterred a coffin in grave # 361. A former POW, Lt Fisk stated that Pvr Block was buried in this grave, the team believed that these were his remains. Further reports of what happened with his remains are not available at this time.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Astrid van Erp, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Danny van der Groen, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com, IDPF, US Social Security Application and Claims Index. Alabama County Marriage Records
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Jana Churchwell, Petaluma HS Yearbook 1937, www.newspapers.com - The Los Angeles Times 1936