William Callen
Sergeant William Callen.
Rank: Sergeant, U.S. Army
Serial: 32483365
Unit: Company I, 398th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Burial: Plot F O 1868, Beverly National Cemetery, Beverly, NJ
Awards: Purple Heart
Biography
Sergeant William Callen, 23, of Camden, NJ, was killed in action on November 20, 1944. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Callen Sr., who lived on Seventh Avenue in the Ashland neighborhood on the border of Voorhees Township and what was then Delaware Township, NJ. William Callen had married and was living and working in Camden, NJ, as an employee of the New York Shipbuilding Company, at 28 Church Street (later at 416 Chambers Avenue). He had entered the Army in December of 1942.
A ranger with the 100th Division, Sergeant Callen was leading a squad attempting to capture a German-held town in Eastern France. The squad was about to take the last enemy-held machinegun emplacement when the Ashland soldier was killed. He was initially buried in Epinal cemetery. After the war, his remains were returned to the United States and he was reinterred at Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, NJ, in adjoining graves with his brother, Coxswain Albert F. Callen Jr., who died in the Philippines on April 29, 1945.
He was survived by his wife Eleanor, his parents, a sister May, and a brother Albert who was serving in the Coast Guard.
28 Church Street, Camden, NJ
28 Church Street, Camden, NJ, April 18, 2004.
2 Kin Who Died In Service to Be Buried Monday
Camden Courier-Post —
Services will be held Monday for two Ashland brothers, both War II servicemen, whose bodies recently were returned from overseas cemeteries.
The brothers, Sgt. William and Coxswain Albert F. Callen Jr., will be buried in adjoining graves in Beverly National cemetery.
They were the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Callen Sr., Seventh avenue, Ashland. Also surviving is a sister, Mary.
Sergeant Callen was killed in action in Eastern France Nov. 20, 1944. His brother, Albert, died of injuries suffered at Tacloban, Leyte, April 29, 1945.
A ranger with the 100th Division, Sergeant Callen was leading a squad attempting to capture a German-held town. The squad was about to take the last enemy-held machinegun emplacement, when the Ashland soldier was killed. He was buried in Epinal cemetery.
Coxswain Callen enlisted in the Coast Guard in December, 1941. He then was stationed in New Guinea and other Pacific islands.
He was scheduled to be given a medical discharge April 11, 1945. However, he requested his commanding officer to permit him to stay in the service for the duration. He was reassigned the same day to Okinawa.
While waiting for the LST to take him there, Coxswain Callen was crushed beneath an overturned truck. He died April 29, 1945, and was buried in Tacloban cemetery.