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name
MC CRACKEN, Donald Hendry - Date of
birth
12 February 1912 -
Age
32 - Place of
birth
New York -
Hometown
Erie County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O1308357 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Company Commander -
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
22nd Infantry Regiment,
4th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 November 1944 - Place of
death
Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 22 |
Immediate family
-
Members
John McCracken (father)
Anna M. (Kuebel) McCracken (mother)
Dorothy McCracken (sister)
Ruth (Farrell) McCracken (wife)
Donald H. McCracken Jr. (son)
More information
Donald H. McCracken graduated from Brockport High School and attended the University of Buffalo. He worked as an insurance salesman.He enlisted on 11 June 1942.
After action interviews with officers of the 22nd Infantry, conducted during the war, provide the following description of McCracken's death:
"On 18 November, the company started off in column of platoons, with the 1st platoon leading. A heavy barrage of mortar and artillery once again greeted the advance; tree bursts were particularly frequent, and the scrub pine was slashed and tangled across the path of advance. An artillery shell killed Lt. Donald H. McCracken, company executive who had just been promoted from his position as weapons platoon leader.
Lt. McCracken’s old platoon sergeant, T/Sgt. Clement Schelsky, cracked completely upon receipt of the news; he was evacuated for combat exhaustion."
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Records, www.1-22infantry.org - After Action Report, www.newspapers.com - Democrat and Chronicle
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com, www.newspapers.com - Democrat and Chronicle