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name
MELNICK, Henry - Date of
birth
30 July 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Buffalo, Erie County, New York -
Hometown
Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
42024986 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
3rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized),
F Company
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 March 1945 - Place of
death
Riol, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Dora Melnick (mother)
Beatrice Melnick (sister)
More information
Pfc Henry Melnick attended high school for three years and was employed at the Carborundum Company before he enlisted in Buffalo, New York on 16 September 1943.Pfc Melnick was riding in a M-24 light tank during an attack northeast of Riol, Germany. The tank was the lead tank when it took a direct hit from an enemy shell. The shell hit the front shield of the tank and penetrated the turret at the gunners position, passing through the radio and going completely through the tank. 2nd Lt Van Slyke and Pfc Henry Melnick were killed instantly. T/4 Sam A. Marino, T/5 Robert A. Harmon, and Pfc Marion C. Sarver escaped without injury. The tank continued to take hits and was set on fire. Further investigation the next day revealed fire had consumed the bodies and there were no recoverable remains.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com – U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men / 1940 Census, www.findagrave.com – MAJ Jimmy Cotton
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, The Buffalo News - 31 March 1945