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name
BOREL, Gilbert - Date of
birth
24 February 1923 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
St. Martin Parish, Louisiana -
Hometown
St. Martinville, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
38266407 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
B Company,
823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
18 April 1945 - Place of
death
Barleben, North of Magdeburg
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Sylvio Borel (father)
Lula Borel (mother)
Mildred Borel (sister)
Vernia Borel (sister)
Bootsie Borel (brother)
Patrick Borel (brother)
More information
Pfc Gilbert Borel worked in a sawmill. He enlisted in Lafayette, Louisiana on 23 December 1942.He was killed when the tank destroyer of which he was an occupant was struck by an enemy Panzerfaust. Also Cpl David Paiz, who is also buried at Margraten, was killed. Sgt Walter S. Clark, who was also a crew member was wounded and died two days later. He is also buried at Margraten.
After the war, the area was situated in Soviet controlled territory. In April 1947 a field investigation was conducted which revealed that five deceased were disinterred in the area at the end of the hostilities and one was placed on a passing vehicle during combat. No record of these deceased was recorded by the American administration. The known knocked-out tanks in the area (three of four) were removed by the Soviet Army. Therefore it was concluded that the remains of Pfc Borel were either among those six known casualties or were reduced to a state at time of death to preclude all possibility of recovery.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.docstoc.com, www.tankdestroyer.net, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, IDPF
Photo source: Charles Witts, Peter Hendrikx, www.tankdestroyer.net, Peter Schouteten