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Personal info

Full name
RANKIN, Knott Crockett Jr
Date of birth
27 May 1924
Age
20
Place of birth
Rockland, Knox County, Maine
Hometown
Rockland, Knox County, Maine

Military service

Service number
31319510
Rank
Corporal
Function
Gunner
Unit
A Company,
48th Tank Battalion,
14th Armored Division
Awards
Silver Star,
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
28 November 1944
Place of death
Barr, France

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
A 30 27

Immediate family

Members
Knott C. Rankin Sr. (father)
Lucy A. (Young) Rankin (mother)
Lucille A. Rankin (sister)
Glenna M. Rankin (sister)

More information

Cpl Knott C. Rankin Jr. attended college for one year before he enlisted in Portland, Maine on 18 February 1943.

He stayed at his seat until all his ammunition was expended but was killed as he tried to escape the deadly trap of the burning tank. For this action he was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously.

He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Hochfelden, France.

Cpl Rankin is remembered at the Achorn Cemetery in Rockland, Knox County, Maine.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Jon Mathis Family Tree, www.findagrave.com - Jill Crockett Venskus, http://14thad.org, https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/45959/Rankin-Knott-C-Jr.htm
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Christiane Wadel / diprescott, www.ancestry.com - U.S. School Yearbooks Rockland Maine