This memorial page is dedicated to Roy R. Coleman, one of more than 725 war victims connected to the municipality of Deurne documented by Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers. The municipality of Deurne and the surrounding villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Helenaveen, Neerkant and Zeilberg were liberated in the autumn of 1944 during heavy fighting. Victims fell on all sides: Allied soldiers from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, and German soldiers.

But the archive covers more than just the combat victims on Deurne soil. Residents of Deurne who lost their lives elsewhere are also commemorated: civilians who were murdered in concentration camps, forced labourers who died in Germany, people who were executed or succumbed to the effects of persecution and oppression. In addition, residents of Deurne who entered German military service and were killed elsewhere are also included.

Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers has been documenting the story of all these people since 1995, without distinction of nationality, side or background. The goal is to give every person a name and a face, and to keep their memory alive.

 

Name: Coleman
First names: Roy R.
Nickname: –
Date of birth: 9 December 1922
Place of birth: –
Residence: 2250 Rankin Ave., Columbus, Ohio
Rank / Occupation: Private First Class
Identity tag: 15015599
Unit: 33rd Armoured Engineer Battalion, 7th Armoured Division, Company B
Date of death: 16 October 1944
Place of death: Near the ‘Kraaienhut’ in Deurne
Cause of death: explosion of an anti-personnel mine.
Cemetery: Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery (Belgium)
Memorial site: Mifflin Township Veterans Memorial in Gahanna, Ohio (USA)


Additional information

Grave location: C-5-47

Awarded the Purple Heart.

Enlisted 9 December 1941, Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio.

Killed by an exploding anti-personnel mine whilst clearing mines in the vicinity of the ‘Kraaienhut’ near the Defence Canal.

Obituary in ‘The Columbus Dispatch’ on Tuesday 6 February 1945
Overlijdensbericht in de "The Columbus Dispatch" van dinsdag 06-02-1945

View all persons in the category: Allied soldiers killed in action