Veteran of Korean War
United States Marine Corps
Killed in Action

Son of William Clement Cottom and
Juanita Jessie Cottom

Burial: 5 Jan 1952, per cemetery

Korean War Casualty Listings
Name: William Eugene Cottom
Birth: 26 Jan 1932 [Kansas]
Home: San Pedro, California
Death: 27 Sep 1951 Korea
Description: Killed in Action
War: Korean War
Rank: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
Service ID: 1075974
Notes: Corporal Cottom was a member of Company H, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on September 27, 1951. Corporal Cottom was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Data Source: Korean War Veterans Honor Roll

Korean War Casualties
Name: William E Cottom
Birth Date: 26 Jan 1932
Home: San Pedro, California
Death: 27 Sep 1951
Casualty Country: Korea
Casualty Type: Hostile - Killed
Casualty Cause: Gunshot or Small Arms Fire
Casualty Air: Ground Casualty
Service Branch: US Marine Corps
Rank: Corporal

Note
Likely killed in Battle of Heartbreak Ridge, Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, South Korea.

Headstone Applications for Military Veterans
Name: William Eugene Cottom
Birth: 26 Jan 1932
Death: 27 Sep 1951 KIA
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps, 11th Signal Co., Div. H-3-5 FMF
Rank: Corporal
Cemetery: Green Hills Memorial Park, San Pedro, CA

Census
1940 Census, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California; 625 South Mesa
-William Cottom, head, 33, b. KS, sign painter
-Juanita Cottom, wife, 31, b. KS
-Billy* Gene Cottom, son, 8, b. KS
In 1935, family lived at Cherryvale, Montgomery, Kansas

Father
California Death Index
Name: William Clement Cottom
Birth: 17 Jan 1907 Kansas
Death: 17 Nov 1993 Los Angeles Co.
Mother's Maiden Name: Beal
SSDI: Last residence San Pedro, CA

In Same Cemetery
Paternal Grandparents
Homer Machlan Cottom (1875-1943) and
Lucy Ellen Beal Cottom (1874-1954)