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name
MITCHUM, Troy Jr - Date of
birth
16 April 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Oklahoma -
Hometown
Chico, Wise County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
38685888 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
5th Infantry Regiment,
71st Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
14 April 1945 - Place of
death
Bayreuth, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 36 | 19 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Thomas T. Mitchum Sr. (father)
Hattie A. (Meyers) Mitchum (mother)
Homer T. Mitchum (brother)
Geneva 'Jerry' Mitchum (sister)
Joe B. Mitchum (brother)
Tora M. Mitchum (sister)
Evelyn M. Mitchum (sister)
Norma Mitchum (sister)
Hazel Mitchum (sister)
Bruce B. Mitchum (brother)
Marquis H. (Mark) Mitchum (brother)
Essie C. (Stephens) Mitchum (wife)
More information
Pfc Troy Mitchum Jr. enlisted in Camp Wolters, Texas on 26 April 1944.Killed through a snipper-shot in Bayreuth, Germany on the 14 April 1945.
Pfc Mitchum was initially buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Eisenach, Germany. When this cemetery was closed, his remains were transferred to the, at that time, Temporary American Military Cemetery in Margraten where they were buried in a temporary grave on 21 June 1945.
His widow was requested on 5 December 1947 to indicate where her deceased husband should be buried permanently. On 17 January 1948 she chose Margraten Cemetery should be his final resting place. However, it turned out that she had remarried on 19 December 1946 therefore could no longer be regarded as next of kin.
It was decided to exhume his remains again and to move them to Ardennes pending a final decision from his family. Since his father had already passed away, it was his mother who was recognized as next of kin. She chose that he had to be buried permanently at Ardennes, which happened on 3 May 1950.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.johnbessems.nl, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil; IDPF
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Wichita Falls Times - 8 March 1945