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| Pvt. Charles McCoy was one of the 90th Infantry Division troops who cross the swollen Saar River in December 1944. http://www.everytownusa.com/90th-infantry-division/90th-infantry-division-pic-of-the-week-saar-river-germany/ |
Charles C. McCoy never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on July 20, 1917 in Illinois. His parents were also both born in Illinois. His father worked as a farmer. Charles had a younger brother and a younger sister. By 1940 Charles was still living at home, working on the family farm. He had completed eight years of schooling.
He married his wife Virginia Cruise and they had a boy born in 1941, another boy born either as a twin or one or two years later, and a girl born in 1944.
He enlisted in the army on January 5, 1944. He was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division where he held the rank of private.
The 359th Infantry Regiment landed on Utah Beach on D-Day. I don't know if Pvt. McCoy was with the unit at that time. Most likely, he joined later as a replacement since he was from Illinois and the unit originated in Texas and Oklahoma.
The division cross the Saar River on December 6, 1944 and establishing a bridgehead north of present-day Saarlouis. The bridgehead was tenuous. The Germans would not allow a bridge over the river so the troops on the east bank had to be supplied by boats during the nights. The Americans had no armor while the Germans did. They were on defense as the Germans unsuccessfully tried to push the Americans back into the river. Pvt. McCoy died in the midst of this battle, on December 10, 1944. Ten days after his death, the 90th pulled back across the Saar so it could counterattack German units that had overrun American positions during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge.
His grave is at the Calvary Cemetery in Brimfield, Illinois. His daughter died in 2010, his oldest son died in 2013, and his widow, who remarried, died in 2014.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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