Remembering World War II

Name: Robert Reginald Raimey Rank: Sergeant Service Number: 31229851 Service: Company C, 3rd Tank Battalion, 10th Armored Division, US Army Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: November 28, 1921 Place of Birth: Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine Date of Enlistment: November 5, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Boston, Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 20 Height: 5 feet, 10 inches Complexion: Light Eye color: Hazel Hair color: Brown Occupation: Tinsmith, coppersmith, and sheet metal worker Marital Status: Single Next of Kin: Sophie L. (Raimey) Zottoli (1890-1980) (Paternal aunt) Date of Death: March 1, 1945 Age: 23 Cemetery: Mount Hope Cemetery, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Robert Reginald Raimey was the son of Perley Weston Raimey (1898-1971) and Madeline E. Flint (1904-1924). Robert’s father was born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; his mother – in Oxford, Maine. Robert had two brothers Theodore Roosevelt Raimey (1922-1951) and Charles Edwin Raimey (1924-2001). Robert’s father had immigrated from Nova Scotia to the United States in 1907. He served in the 4th Squad of the 493rd Motor Truck Company, 420th Motor Supply Train, in the US Army with American Expeditionary Forces (Service No. 389962) in Europe during the First World War. Robert’s brother Charles served in the US Army as a Technician 5th Class (Service No. 31319411) during the Second World War and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He enlisted February 16, 1943, in Portland, Maine. Robert’s second brother Theodore had worked as a foreman before the war and also served in the US Army (Service No. 31294868) having enlisted February 2, 1943 in Boston. Robert’s mother died in 1924 and Robert, his father and brothers lived in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine, from the time of Robert’s birth into the 1940’s. Robert registered for the US Draft on February 15, 1941, in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. He was working for A. W. Banister Company at 66 Hamilton Street in Cambridge, Mass. the time. He listed his aunt Sophie L. (Raimey) Zottoli (1890-1980), his father’s sister, as his next of kin on his draft registration. He lived with her at 17 Lincoln Street in Dorchester, Mass. After enlistment, Robert was assigned to Company C, 3rd Tank Battalion of the 10th Armored Division in the US Army. The 10th was known as the Tiger Division. Sergeant Raimey served in 10th Division and served during the Battle of Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. Elements of the 9th and 10th Armored Divisions accompanied the 101st Airborne Division in its push to libertate Bastogne just before Christmas of 1944. His unit, the 3rd Tank Battalion of the 10th Div., earned a Distinguished / Presidential United Citation (January 14, 1945): "During the all out German offensive of December 1944, the 3rd Tk Bn participated in the defence of Bastogne. From 18 Dec 44 to 30 Dec 44 the Battalion performed its mission of withholding the enemy from Bastogne, first as holding force of the reenforced Combat Command, and second by operating as a mobile reserve for the 101st Airborne Division in the perimeter defense, taking an active and physical participation in that defense. The 3d Tk Bn distinguished itself by extraordinary heroism and exhibited such gallantry, determination and outstanding moral that every attempt by the enemy to enter Bastogne was repulsed. Through days and nights of bitter cold and intense enemy activity and fire, the Battalion consistently continued its fighting function despite depleted strength in personnel and material. The individual bravery, keen judgement and combat skill of the members of the 3d Tk Bn prevented heavy losses to friendly troops and resulted in stopping the enemy advance into the besieged city, inflicting upon him extremely heavy losses. Innumerable acts of individual and collective gallantry and self sacrifice were performed with unthinking unselfishness in the calm determination to hold whatever the cost. The cool courage, combat skill and esprit de corps displayed by members of the 3d Tk Bn was inspiring and contagious to all troops in the vicinity and reflects the highest traditions of the armed forces of the United States." In the spring of 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies continued their advance and crossed the Rhine. At the time of Robert’s death, Patton’s army was making a swift advance in the Rhine-Moselle area. Sergeant Robert Reginald Raimey died March 1, 1945, in Germany. After the war, his family chose to repatriate his remains and he is interred at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. He is a remembered on the headstone of his aunt Sophie Raimey Zottoli and her husband Ermon Zottoli.

Robert Reginald Raimey

Sources: findagrave honorstates