My grandfather’s first cousin, so also my cousin, was killed during Operation Overlord 75 years ago. I never knew about him because my grandfather did not talk about the war much. My grandfather would not see a battlefield until 24 December, 1944. His cousin Bill was dropped into Normandy on D-Day and was actually killed on the 8th of June, 1944. The headstone is wrong. His Date of Birth is also wrong, being 1921 and not 1930.
He was originally buried in France. There is still a memorial to the men who died with him near the spot where he fell. He was reinterred in the US into what is now a defunct cemetery in Philadelphia, which is being slowly brought back to life by a small number of dedicated volunteers.
Obviously he lied about his age!
From the post: “His Date of Birth is also wrong, being 1921 and not 1930.”
His mother put the wrong date down on the headstone request form for some reason. The rest of the records are correct, except this one.
You would think someone would catch the age of 14 when they made out the tombstone. I am sure there were young people at Normandy, but 14?