William C. Vaughan

William C. Vaughan's grave in Luxembourg American Cemetery, Hamm, Luxembourg. Image Source: www.findagrave.com

William C. Vaughan was born in 1924, in Georgia, the eldest of four sons of Vernon Galphin Vaughan (1904-1957) and Lillian G. Vaughan (1906-1987). He graduated from John Marshall High School in Richmond, Virginia, in 1941.

Vaughan enlisted in the Army in April 1944, at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, Georgie, following training at N.C. State College and Georgia Tech. At N.C. State, he majored in civil engineering. Vaughan also studied at ECTC. Prior to service overseas, he was stationed at Camp Blanding, Florida; Fort Meade, Maryland; and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

In December 1944, Vaughan served in the 317th Infantry Regiment, 80^th Infantry Division of General George S. Patton’s Third Army and fought in the Battle of Ardennes, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944-January 25, 1945), Germany’s last attempt to recapture lost ground in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, and to reverse the advance of Allied forces intent on moving into southwestern Germany.

Following the June 1944 Normandy invasion, General Patton’s forces advanced across France through Luxembourg and then into Germany, pushing back German forces. American casualties numbered 80,000. Vaughan was killed in action a month after the Battle of the Bulge, on February 22, 1945, in Hamm, Luxembourg, as the Third Army continued its push into Germany. Hitler’s suicide on April 30 followed by Germany’s surrender on May 11, 1945, made the Allied advances and Vaughan’s sacrifice in them, of decisive importance in ending WWII. Vaughan was awarded, posthumously, the Purple Heart.

ECTC honored Vaughan and other alumni who had laid down their lives with a memorial service on May 15, 1945. Acting President Howard J. McGinnis read scripture and spoke in tribute. Vaughan’s grave is in the Luxembourg American Cemetery, Hamm, Luxembourg. That cemetery is also the final resting place of Vaughan’s Third Army commander, General Patton, who died in December of the same year in a car accident.

Sources:

• “ECTC Pays Honor To Its War Dead: Memorial Service Held at Greenville for Alumni Killed in Present War.” News and Observer. May 18, 1945. P. 10.
• “Gold Star Alumni.” Teco Echo. May 19, 1945. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37955
• “In Memory of William C. Vaughan.” American Battle Monuments Commission. https://www.abmc.gov/print/certificate/399030
• Pfc. Vaughan Loses Life In Action: Henderson Soldier Killed In Germany.” Herald-Sun. March 24, 1945. P. 7.
• “Pfc. Vaughan Loses Life In Germany.” Henderson Daily Dispatch. March 23, 1945. P. 3.
• “Pfc. William C. Vaughan.” Luxembourg American Cemetery. https://www.abmc.gov/Luxembourg
• “Pfc. William Vaughan Loses Life In Action: Henderson Soldier Killed In Germany.” Herald-Sun. March 24, 1945. P. 7.
• “W. C. Vaughan Honored in ECTC Memorial Service.” Henderson Daily Dispatch. May 17, 1945. P. 3.

Related Materials

Willam C. Vaughan’s ABMC War Dead Certificate. Image Source: American Battle Monuments Commission.

Headstone Inscription and Interment Record: William C Vaughan. Image Source: U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949.

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