Edward G. SHEPPARD
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NUMBER OF SERVICE | 33383937 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AGE | 22 yo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 1922 Baltimore County | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ENLISTMENT STATE | MARILAND | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAMILY |
Parents : Mary Anna Schatz &Maurice SHEPPARD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RANK | Private First Class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FONCTION | Infantry Man | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 14 November 1942 Baltimore MARYLAND | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPANY | Company G | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BATTALION | 2nd Battalion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
REGIMENT | 18th Infantry Regiment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DIVISION | 1st Infantry Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 6 June 1944 |
Source : John Kirk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | Easy Red - Omaha Beach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CEMETERY TEMPORARY |
CEMTERY TEMPORARY of Saint-Laurent N°3582
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CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By : Randyandjulia (Fold 3) PFC Edward George Sheppard (ASN 33383937) was born on July 28, 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Maurice Sheppard, and his mother, Mary Anna Schatz, were both born and raised in Maryland. His father worked as a general laborer and fireman in Baltimore. Edward was the fourth of his parent’s six children. He had three older sisters, a younger brother, and a younger sister. Edward’s parents divorced when he was seven years old. He and his siblings lived with their mother in Baltimore as she raised her family as a single parent. Edward left school before high school and worked as a deliveryman to help with the family. He was working with his father in 1940 when he received his draft card. In November 1942 Edward received his induction notice, and on November 14, 1942 he enlisted with the Army in Baltimore. Edward was assigned to the 18th Infantry Regiment as part of the 1st Infantry Division. The 1st Division was actively fighting in North Africa at the time. He was one of the many who were inducted as replacements and to staff up the division for the upcoming invasion of Europe. He did his basic and infantry training stateside before heading to England near the end of 1943 to join the rest of the 18th Infantry Regiment in England. While in England they trained with veterans of the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily. They did amphibious assault training and participated in exercises in England. For D-Day the 18th Infantry Regiment had other units attached to it and became the 18th Regimental Combat Team (RCT). The 18th RCT would land on the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach near the E-1 and E-3 exits off the beach. The 18th RCT would act as support for the lead assault teams of the 16th RCT. The lead for the 18th RCT was the 2nd Battalion, which contained Company G (Edward’s unit), and would land at 09:45 (H + 195) followed by the 1st and 3rd Battalions 15 minutes later. On June 6, 1944 the 2nd Battalion of the 18th RCT (2/18) headed for the beach at their appointed time. Their LCPVs (Landing Craft Personnel Vehicles) had difficulty approaching the beach because of the congestion from previous crafts and vehicles, and the troops were delayed by thirty minutes. The impression of the 2/18 troops was that little progress had been made on the beach since most of the troops from the previous landings were pinned down by enemy machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire. Making the congestion worse, was that troops from the 115th RCT had mistakenly landed on top of the 2/18 troops. With the help of tank and naval fire, the 2/18 and 115th had opened the E-1 exit at 11:30. Once in the exit draw, the 2/18 troops were hampered by mines and enemy positions in the draw. The remainder of the 18th RCT weren’t able to land until 13:00, an hour after the 2/18 left the beach. Casualties for the 18th RCT that day on the beach were relatively light, but 28 landing crafts were lost in the congestion to the landing area. It is likely that PFC Edward G. Sheppard was killed in action before getting to the beach. The body of PFC Edward G. Sheppard was buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. At the time of his death he was survived by his parents and his five siblings. His mother died in April 1945, so the decision for the final resting place of his remains was made by his oldest sister. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st INFANTRY DIVISION - THE RED ONE
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SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Aad.archives.gov - Abmc.gov - Findagrave.com - Honorstates.org - Fold3 |
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PROGRAMMER | Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |