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name
WILKINS, John D - Date of
birth
27 May 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania -
Religion
Protestant
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33436195 -
Rank
Technician Fifth Grade -
Function
unknown -
Unit
C Company,
1st Battalion,
517th Parachute Infantry Regiment
-
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Died of Wounds - Date of
death
5 January 1945 - Place of
death
Saint Jacques-Bergeval, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 13 | 24 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Ferdinand H. Wilkins (father)
Lettie C. (Manson) Wilkins (mother)
Pauline L. Wilkins (sister)
Gladys M. Wilkins (sister)
Billy W. Wilkins (brother)
Kenneth Wilkins (brother)
Connie L. Wilkins (sister)
More information
T/5 John D. Wilkins graduated from Franklin High School.He enlisted in Erie, Pennsylvania on 31 March 1943. He landing in Italy on 1 June 1944. He was reported wounded in action in Italy. For this wound he was awarded the Purple Heart Medal a first time. He was also a veteran of the campaign in Southern France.
He was hospitalized in France with an infected finger and was out of service for more than a month.
On 27 December 1944 he wrote his parents that he was somewhere in Belgium. He said he had been quite busy and would tell more when he got home. It was shortly after this that he was wounded and apparently died a short time after.
Source of information: www.wwiimemorial.com, www.517prct.org, www.newspapers.com - The News-Herald, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / 1930 Census / Family Trees
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - Franklin High School Yearbook 1941