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Personal info

Full name
DOLAN, Russel Eugene
Date of birth
1923
Age
unknown
Place of birth
North Dakota
Hometown
Spokane, Spokane County, Washington

Military service

Service number
39475057
Rank
Private
Function
unknown
Unit
F Company,
2nd Battalion,
513th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
17th Airborne Division
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
3 April 1945
Place of death
Münster, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
D 6 27

Immediate family

Members
William L. Dolan (father)
Mary C. (Regan) Dolan (mother)
Olive J. Dolan (sister)
Jane Dolan (sister)
James L. Dolan (brother)

More information

Pvt Russel E. Dolan enlisted in Seattle, Washington on 5 June 1944.

According to his enlistment record he was born in 1923 but actually he was 17 years old when he was killed. He had been overseas only since January 1944.

Account on his death (quoted from "The Skymen" by Kirk B. Ross):
"The company moved out cautiously - it was almost impossible to see through the dense growth of trees. As they neared the battle area, F Company was pinned down by tree burst artillery, a couple of men were hit. Cuthberson was stung by shrapnel on the sleeve where he wore his watch, but it didn't penetrate. However, Pvt Russel E. Dolan, a seventeen year old from Washington state who had been on point, was killed instantly."

Source of information: Tom Verheijden, The Spokesman-Review - 19 April 1945, www.ancestry.com - Family Tree , http://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/513/513_honor.html

Photo source: Tom Verheijden, The Spokesman-Review - 19 April 1945