The Marlborough
Historical Society

     William was born the 21^st of July, 1909 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the fifth of six children and the only son born to William and Mary Wakefield.  He enlisted into the Army National Guard the 5^th of July, 1927 and serve continuously until the 10^th of December, 1940, ultimately obtaining the rank of Master Sergeant with Company K, 181^st Infantry Regiment.  He married Dorothy Spratt in 1933 and together they would have two daughters Joan and Carol.  They made their home at 67 Francis Street in Marlborough. 

     Although discharged and with dependents, William enlisted into the Army the 22^nd of February 1944.  He first went to Fort Devens Army Induction Center in Ayer, Massachusetts before being sent to Camp Wheeler in Georgia for basic training.  He was then assigned to Company I, 329^th Infantry Regiment of the 83^rd Infantry Division.  The 83^rd Division arrived in Wales, U.K. in April, 1944 and following a training period landed at Omaha beach the 18^th of June 1944.  The division fought near Carentan, France and the hedgerows at the end of the Normandy Campaign.  The division next moved through France and into Luxembourg.

     On the night of the 4^th of October, 1944, William along with a squad from his company was assigned to perform reconnaissance near Ecthernach, Luxembourg. During the patrol the small unit made contact with German troops and William was wounded, but not able to be pulled to safety.  His squad departed the area believing that William would be attended to by German medical staff.  William succumbed to his wounds while laying on the battlefield and his body was found when the area was cleared of German troops.  He was originally buried in the United States Military Cemetery Number 1 in Foy Belgium, and now lies at rest at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Henri-Chapelle Belgium, Block G, Row 3, Grave 19.  Wakefield Road in Marlborough is named in his honor.

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