Corporal John L. Freeman (37077102)

John L. Freeman never had children, which means that family tracing is difficult. But he is still remembered by a former sweetheart, Wilma.

Wilma was considered by her parents to be too young for John and so instead of going out on dates they could only meet outside, at her home, where they were able to steal the occasional kiss.

Wilma remembers him as "a sweetie - very good looking and a perfect gentleman". She adds that although she has no photographs of John, she can still see him in her mind.

John's body was eventually repatriated and rests now in Sweeton Pond Cemetery, Dora. He died just before his 25th birthday.

Efforts to learn more about Corporal John L. Freeman continue.

Thanks for their help to Wilma and her daughter Sherry, Ozark County Times former editor Sue Ann Jones and local historian Mary Collins.

On May 22 2024 John was honoured in the Memorial Day edition of the Ozark County Times, whose former editor Sue Ann Jones is among those who have tried to help us to find family contacts.

PDFs of their special feature, mentioning what we know of John L. Freeman, can be downloaded from here and here.

The online version can be viewed here.

John L. Freeman was born August 18 1919 in Dora, Ozark County, Missouri. He died on August 3 1944, at La Cambe, France, aged 24.

Troop A Corporal John L. Freeman was born August 18 1919 in Dora, Ozark County, Missouri. Like many men from the area he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps in nearby Taney County. The CCC was created as part of America's recovery plan, after the Great Depression, and it provided work for many Ozark County men.

From being a 'farm boy' he enlisted in July 15 1941 and arrived in Normandy on June 15 1944, where the squadron was immediately attached to the 4th Infantry Division at Quineville.

Their mission was to relieve the 22nd Infantry Regiment and for the men of the 24th to provide a counter-reconnaissance screen on high ground to the west.

Soon they were under constant harassing artillery and heavy mortar fire, with German patrols regularly attempting to penetrate their section at night.

It was here, on the Quineville ridge, where Corporal Freeman was first injured, on June 17, receiving a Purple Heart for injuries received in combat.

Nothing more is currently known of Corporal Freeman's actions in Normandy until August 2 when he was badly injured in a vehicle accident in La Denisiere, south of the Cotentin peninsula. He died the next day in the US 45th Evacuation Hospital at La Cambe.