COHOES, N.Y. (AP) - An upstate New York community has honored a World War II Army veteran who’s his hometown’s last surviving member of a unit that suffered heavy casualties during a bloody Pacific battle.
Wilfred “Spike” Mailloux (MAY’-loo) served in Company B, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division during the Battle of Saipan in the summer of 1944. The 27th Division was a New York National Guard organization called up during the war. Soldiers in Company B were recruited from the city of Cohoes (koh-HOHZ’), just north of Albany.
Near the end of the fighting on Saipan, the 105th Regiment was hit by a massive Japanese attack. The regiment lost 400 killed and another 500 wounded, including Mailloux. The casualties included scores of other New Yorkers.
On Tuesday afternoon, officials in Cohoes were joined by about three dozen residents, police officers and firefighters for a ceremony honoring the 93-year-old veteran’s service.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.