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BIXBY, Deane Francis - Date of
birth
29 January 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Oregon -
Hometown
Parkrose, Multnomah County, Oregon
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-1116354 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Platoon Commander -
Unit
C Company,
12th Engineer Combat Battalion,
8th Infantry Division,
2nd Platoon
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Died of Wounds - Date of
death
4 December 1944 - Place of
death
unknown
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| F | 4 | 45 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Emil F. Bixby (father)
Bertha (Hoffman) Bixby (mother)
Shirly J. Bixby (sister)
Eveline C. Bixby (sister)
Patricia Bixby (sister)
More information
2nd Lt Deane F. Bixby graduated from Oregon State College in 1942 and was a civil engineer.He volunteered for the Army of the united States in Portland, Oregon on 4 June 1942.
He was severely wounded on 26 November 1944, 200 meters south of the B 399 roadbend near Hürtgen. This area was called the ,,Wilde Sau''-minefield. Directly east of the roadbend is the location of the German Military Cemetery Hürtgen (Ehrenfriedhof Hürtgen) today.
German engineers of 275. Inf Div had blown a big crater in the B 399 road 200 meters south of the roadbend. US engineers tried to fill the crater but didn't succeed. In late November 1944, the 121st Inf Regt attacked the town of Hürtgen from the south and the west. 12th CEB tried to bridge the crater with a treadway bridge in order to bring up tank support for 121st Infantry. This was task of Co C for 26 November 1944.
When 2nd Lt Bixby tried to recconnoiter the crater and ordered his men to start installing the bridge, the GIs were caught by German mortar fire.
The shelling was very intense and Lt Bixby was severly hit. The impact left him with a broken back and one foot partly blown off by shrapnels. His men had to withdraw and picked him up in the darkness of 26 November. He was brought to a hospital but succumbed to his wounds on 4 December 1944.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Elistment Record, NARA, Combat interview with 2nd Lt Charles A. Powers, leader 3rd plt, Co A, 12th CEB, NARA, Combat interview with Sergeant Sylvester Damiani, leader 1st plt, Co C, 12th CEB
Photo source: Ancestry.com / Ryan Wadleigh, Peter Schouteten