Oneonta WWII Fallen

Pfc. Douglas L. "Doug" Platt (32669136)

Company A, 314 Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division

"Merrily we live" – 1942 Oneontan

Douglas Leroy Platt was born August 30, 1923 in Oneonta, NY to Earl L. Platt (1897-1987) and Eva A.Rounds (1900-1988). His parents were married on May 23, 1921. The Platts lived on Chesnut St. in Oneonta NY and Douglas was the second of their five children. He had an older brother Earl and Richard, Beverly and Robert were all younger. Both his parents were from New York and his dad was a barber at DeAngello's Barber Shop in Oneonta. He graduated Oneonta High School in 1942 where he was known as "Doug".

He was inducted into the Army on December 29, 1942 in Utica, NY and was 5'-6" tall and weighed 142 pounds at the time. He was assigned to the 314th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Division of the U.S. Army. He trained at Ft. Benning, Georgia; Camp Blanding, Florida and other places, finally landing at Camp Phillips, Kansas where he prepared for deployment overseas. In March of 1944 his unit moved to Camp Miles Standish, in Boston and loaded onto the USS Cristobal and HMS Strathmore for the trip to England.

On June 13, 1944 the 314th landed on Utah Beach, still a mess from the D-Day invasion just a week before, and headed toward Cherbourg, France. By June 26, after days of intense fighting and heavy casualties, Cherbourg was taken and the 314th moved south across the Douve River and captured Hill 121. From there it only got harder. By early July, the 314th was fighting near Bolleville, France. It was here, sometime on July 5, 1944 that Pfc. Platt is killed.

U.S. WWII Hospital Admissin Card File records document that he was killed in action on July 5, 1944 from an artillery shell. Pfc. Platt is initially buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery, Blosville, France, Plot G, Row 1, Grave 20. In April 1949, at the request of his mother and father, his remains are escorted home by Sgt. Anthoney F. Arace and buried with military honors in the Oneonta Plains Cemetery, Oneonta, NY. His name is memorialized on two plaques in his hometown. One that hangs in the main hallway of his high school and one in Neawha Park in Oneonta. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com

Sources

Bodies of 8 Soldiers Returned, Binghamton Press Bureau, Binghamton, NY, March 15, 1949, pg. 3

Find a Grave record for Douglas L Platt accessed at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151437915/douglas-l-platt; February 8, 2023.

Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for Platt, Douglas, F., 32-669-136, National Archives, St. Louis, MI.

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

The WW2 Letters of Private Melvin W. Johnson accessed at http://worldwar2letters.com/letters.html; February 8, 2023.

Rites Held for Soldier, Sun and Press Bulletin, Binghamton, NY, Date unknown.

"U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Oneonta Senior High School; Year: 1942

Year: 1940; Census Place: Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02717; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 39-46

Supporting Files