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Contact Info
Home Town Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Last Address Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Buried at Bethel Cemetery, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania
Date of Passing Oct 16, 1975
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Pvt. Edward T. Colteryahn, 2663811, Company M, 320th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division.Wounded in Action on 11 October 1918 by a gun shot wound to his left wrist.Born on 1 April 1894, he entered the service on 1 April 1918 from Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
Pvt. Colteryahn served overseas from 10 June 1918 until 7 March 1919.He fought at Bethincourt and the Meuse River during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.The 320th Infantry Regiment fought during the entire Meuse-Argonne Offensive, leading the assault on Bethincourt along with the 319th Infantry Regiment on 26 September 1918.The American infantry advanced toward the town, which had been flattened.The Germans melted away until the early morning fog lifted from the battlefield and then they opened fire on the Doughboys with machineguns, artillery and strafing airplanes.The 80th Infantry Division advanced 4 miles by dusk, and had already not sleep for over 60 hours.The 80th Infantry Division continued to advance on 27 and 28 September, advancing to the Bois de la Cote Lemont without major problems.Fighting picked up in the woods of La Cote Lemont and by 4 October, the 80th Infantry Division had suffered 1,824 casualties between 4 and 10 October.German gas was so heavy that the Americans had to wear gas masks almost the entire time, even while sleeping.
On 11 October, the 320th Infantry Regiment prepared for a 7 AM attack against the German defenses.At that moment, a German counter barrage hit the regiment and "butchered the Doughboys until the dead lay in heaps."The 319th Infantry shattered so badly that cooks, clerks and quartermasters had to pick up a rifle and hold the line.Pvt. Colteryahn was shot in his left wrist during this day.His records are unclear, but its possible that he did not receive medical care until 13 October.
He received his Purple Heart on 3 April 1944. He died in October 1975 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.