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name
ANDERSON, Alexander Stoneburg - Date of
birth
23 December 1923 -
Age
20 -
Place of birth
Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania -
Ethnicity
African American
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33699382 -
Rank
Private -
Function
Assistant Driver/Bow Gunner -
Unit
C Company,
761st Tank Battalion
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
unknown - Date of
death
9 November 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Morville-lès-Vic, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| J | 34 | 36 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Jesse L. Alexander (father)
Margaret A. (Miller) Anderson (mother)
Jesse E. Anderson (brother)
Elty E. Anderson (sister)
Edward K. Anderson (brother)
Margaret I. Anderson (sister)
Jesse L. Anderson (brother)
Leonard Anderson (brother)
Romaine Anderson (sister)
John Anderson (brother)
Harry Anderson (brother)
Arthur Anderson (brother)
Mary Anderson (sister)
Robert Anderson (brother)
More information
Alexander Anderson was a welder before he enlisted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 7 August 1943.On 9 November, C Company ran into an antitank ditch near Morville. The German 11th Panzer Division began to knock out seven tanks one by one down the line.
After the company commander, Capt McHenry, gave the order to dismount several men were killed by shell fire and small arms when they crawled through the freezing muddy waters of the ditch.
Pvt Anderson was killed in his seat when an enemy shell hit his tank. After a few moments the tank was completely engulfed in flames.
The men of the 761st who were killed during the liberation of Morville-lès-Vic are remembered on a monument at the Rue Principale, just outside the village.
The 761st Tank Battalion was the first African American armored unit to see combat and apart from some officers consisted entirely of African American soldiers.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, wwiiregistry.abmc.gov / www.ancestry.com / History of the 761st, www.abmc.gov,
Photo source: www.findagrave.com / Le Républicain Lorrain