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Clyde A LaPlante 551st Group


USMCR1942
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Hi,

Here is a small grouping named to PFC Clyde A LaPlante who served with B/551st PIR. I believe that he was WIA shortly after landing in the south of France for Operation Dragoon and was even involved in the final battle of the battalion at Rochelinval in January 1945.

 

I believe that the Purple heart was engraved after the war, mainly due to the fact that he was WIA not KIA and that the bronze star is the upgrade for earning a combat infantry badge, as i cant find any records of the bronze star award.

 

Sam

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manayunkman

Very nice set.

 

Wasnt the 551 dissolved after being bled white during the Bulge?

 

Was he transferred to another unit?

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Thank you!

 

Yes they were, they had tremendous causalities after the final battle and were then put with the 82nd Airborne .

 

Its my understanding that he got transferred to C/504th when this happened.

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Very nice grouping, interesting story, and hard to find. 

 

I have a pretty large grouping of same. 

 

Do you know what company he was in?  May be in the same pictures. 

 

Congrats!

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manayunkman
1 hour ago, USMCR1942 said:

Thank you!

 

Yes they were, they had tremendous causalities after the final battle and were then put with the 82nd Airborne .

 

Its my understanding that he got transferred to C/504th when this happened.


I have a similar group to a man who trained with the 503, jumped in Southern France with the 551, went to the Bulge and was transferred into the 509th, attached to the 101st, and when they were decimated he went to the 82nd. 
 

He was captured in April 1945 and liberated shortly afterwards.

 

He went home with the 17th Airborne after the end of the war.

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2 hours ago, manayunkman said:


I have a similar group to a man who trained with the 503, jumped in Southern France with the 551, went to the Bulge and was transferred into the 509th, attached to the 101st, and when they were decimated he went to the 82nd. 
 

He was captured in April 1945 and liberated shortly afterwards.

 

He went home with the 17th Airborne after the end of the war.

Sounds very similar to the group I have. Mine came with an original invasion map. Pretty cool stuff!

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3 hours ago, blademan said:

Very nice grouping, interesting story, and hard to find. 

 

I have a pretty large grouping of same. 

 

Do you know what company he was in?  May be in the same pictures. 

 

Congrats!

I'm pretty sure that he was 'B' Co whilst serving with the 551st.

Pictures would be amazing, i've tried looking but drew a blank.

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3 hours ago, manayunkman said:


I have a similar group to a man who trained with the 503, jumped in Southern France with the 551, went to the Bulge and was transferred into the 509th, attached to the 101st, and when they were decimated he went to the 82nd. 
 

He was captured in April 1945 and liberated shortly afterwards.

 

He went home with the 17th Airborne after the end of the war.

That's very cool. You must have spent a while getting that info, i struggled to find much out.

 

I mainly collect USMC which is easy to research in comparison.

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manayunkman
5 minutes ago, USMCR1942 said:

That's very cool. You must have spent a while getting that info, i struggled to find much out.

 

I mainly collect USMC which is easy to research in comparison.


My group has a paper trail so there were bits of information here and there.

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36 minutes ago, USMCR1942 said:

I'm pretty sure that he was 'B' Co whilst serving with the 551st.

Pictures would be amazing, i've tried looking but drew a blank.

My guy was 2nd platoon, company B as well. 

 

When I get a little more time i can see what i have and your guy is mentioned in the paperwork. 

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This just came up on the feed, beautiful set ! and nice display stands where did you get them from?

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6 minutes ago, blademan said:

My guy was 2nd platoon, company B as well. 

 

When I get a little more time i can see what i have and your guy is mentioned in the paperwork. 

That would be Amazing if something comes up.

 

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4 minutes ago, tanker2nd said:

This just came up on the feed, beautiful set ! and nice display stands where did you get them from?

Thank you! I found them on an Esty store here in the UK. They seem pretty good, i brought a few of them.

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2 hours ago, USMCR1942 said:

That would be Amazing if something comes up.

 

Here are a few pics. I think the long one is a company picture but may be his company. The circled one is the guy i have stuff for. His last name was Hecq and an officer on the company. I think there is a  better quality copy of this pic on line. Not sure if your guy is in this picture. Some of the others on this site may be able to provide additional research info. 

 

There are a lot of pics on line.  The 551 association has some of the old newsletters and timelines which are very helpful and you may find something there. 

 

This group also made a daylight bayo charge I think shortly after the bulge. I have info somewhere. 

 

Btw, awesome grouping.

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Wow, i should look into looking on the internet for more pics.

 

I had a message from another member saying that LaPlante was named in a 551st book. It also says that he was 3rd Platoon, 3rd squad in September 44. So hopefully this narrows it down on pictures.

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