Name: Lawrence Herbert Anderson Rank: First Lieutenant Service Number: O-11165579 Service: Company B, 245th Engineer Combat Battalion, 3rd Army, US Army Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: October 5, 1919 Place of Birth: Saint John, New Brunswick Date of Enlistment: February 24, 1941 Place of Enlistment: Providence, Rhode Island Address at Enlistment: Washington, Rhode Island Age at Enlistment: 21 Height: 5 feet, 11 inches Complexion: Light Hair Color: Blonde Eye Color: Blue Occupation: Unknown Marital Status: Single Next of Kin: Mrs. Anderson (Mother) Date of Death: March 7, 1945 Age: 26 Cemetery: All Saints Cemetery, Pontiac, Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island Lawrence Herbert Anderson was the son of James Albert Anderson (1891-1960) and Georgianna ‘Georgie’ Ann (Brown) Anderson (1894-1986). His father was born in Hillsburn, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, and his mother was born in Cumberland Bay, Queens County, New Brunswick. He had four siblings – Marion Eileen Anderson Coleman (1915–1973), Arnold Theodore Anderson (1916–1993), Grenfell Albert Anderson (1920–1997), and Hayward Clifton Anderson (1923–2009). Lawrence and his family moved to the United States settling in Rhode Island in 1924. When he registered for the US Draft October 16, 1940, in Warwick, Kent Co., Rhode Island, Lawrence was working for the Pontiac Finishing Company. Enlisting in February of 1941, Lawrence joined the US Army Corps of Engineers. He served in Company B of the 245th Engineer Combat Battalion in the 3rd Army. First Lieutenant Lawrence Herbert Anderson was killed in action March 7, 1945, in Europe. The circumstances of which are detailed in a letter from J. H. Livingston, Lieutenant Colonel, 245th Engineer Combat Battalion, Commanding: “Your son was killed on the 7th of March about 1800 on the banks of the Kyll River, near Trier, Germany. It was an assault crossing of the river. Many troops were already safely across when a shell from distant enemy artillery burst near him. I had been at the site and talked to him not more than thirty minutes before it happened. He was killed leading his men, sharing their dangers, exposing himself and reassuring those under his command to the utmost, as we, who too loved him, knew he would. Your son was loved, admired and respected by his subordinates, his contemporaries and his seniors. He had few equals and no superiors. I shed many tears over his death”. Lawrence’s family chose to repatriate his remains, rather than having him interred at an American Battle Monuments Commission Cemetery overseas, and he was interred at the All Saints Cemetery in Pontiac, Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island; his headstone inscribed with the words, "he held his ground with steadfast soul".