Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
VAN CORTLANDT, Augustus III - Date of
birth
7 September 1922 -
Age
22 -
Place of birth
Manhattan, New York County, New York City, New York -
Hometown
Bedford, Westchester County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-535634 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Forward Observer -
Unit
B Battery,
420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion,
10th Armored Division
-
Awards
Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster,
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Died of Wounds - Date of
death
22 April 1945 - Place of
death
Killer, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| G | 6 | 30 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Augustus Van Cortlandt Jr. (father)
Katherine (Gibson) Van Cortlandt (mother)
Carolyn Van Cortlandt (sister)
Katherine B. Van Cortlandt (sister)
Eva Van Cortlandt (sister)
More information
1st Lt August Van Cortlandt III was a descendant of the prominent Van Cortlandt family. He graduated of the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut and attended Yale University for two years.He left college in June 1943 and entered the Army at Camp Devens on 14 June 1943. He attended Officer's Candidate School at Fort Sill from August to November 1943. He was sent overseas in August 1944.
Lt Van Cortlandt was awarded the Silver Star in October, 1944 for gallantry in action when he received his first wound at the Moselle River. He was awarded the second Silver Star for gallantry in action while at Nauburn, Germany, on 22 April 1945. Although mortally wounded during the action, 1st Lt Van Cortlandt courageously continued directing effective fire upon counterattacking hostile forces, repelling them with heavy losses.
He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in December 1944 for his part in the defense of Bastogne.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Toland Family Tree / New York Birth Index, www.findagrave.com, www.10tharmored.com, www.newspapers.com – Daily News - 25 May 1945, Yale Review 1944-1945
Photo source: www.ancestry.com – John Tolan / Robert Darrell