WW2 Fallen - Clarence Raby, 3rd Armored Division + famous painter tie-in

Cpl. Clarence Raby, 3rd Armored Division, and painting by WW2 vet Jacob Lawrence, born on the same day.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54798618&ref=acom
https://www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/war-series-victory-1947 

Clarence Thomas Raby never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 7, 1917 in Illinois. His mother was also born in Illinois while his father was born in Oklahoma. His father worked as a farmer. Clarence had an older sister and an older brother. He had two younger sisters and two younger brothers. By 1940 Clarence had completed four years of high school and was working on the family farm.

He enlisted in the army on June 17, 1941. He became a Tech 5 in the Recon Company, 33rd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division. The 3rd Armored arrived in France in late June 1944. It fought in the successful effort to break out of Normandy and raced across France. By early September it reached Belgium with a mission of securing Liege.

Cpl. Raby died when his recon company was engaged against SS troops on September 7, 1944, his 27th birthday. His mother would have to live with this tragic coincidence for nearly 50 more years.

His grave is at St. Johns Cemetery in Dongola, Illinois.  

Thanks to Jan Ploeg of the America's Fallen Warriors Facebook group for letting me know that his digital monument can be found at http://www.36air-ad.com/names/serial/36037751

Thank you Clarence for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Clarence.

Jacob Lawrence

Also born on September 7, 1917 was Jacob Lawrence, one of the best-known black painters of the twentieth century. He had an early interest in art and was already working as a painter before World War 2. He was drafted into the US Coast Guard in October 1943 and served in one of the first racially integrated crews.

Jacob Lawrence displaying one of his painting during the war.
https://www.uscg.mil/history/people/img/JacobLawrence26G3807sm.jpg 

His first major exhibit was at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in the 1940s, a rare honor for blacks at the time. His paintings can be found at numerous prestigious art museums throughout the country. He died in 2000.

We will never know what other works of art were never created among the 400,000 fallen who never came home.

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. Now more than 200 fallen have been profiled with more than 200,000 visits. Is there interest in seeing a similar video highlighting those from the group of second 100?

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100