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Personal info

Full 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

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