FREDERICK DAVENPORT MELTON

The Citadel Class of:	1945
Cadet Company:	B (Source: Sphinx 1943)
Age:	20
Born:	15-Aug-24 in Americus, Sumter, Georgia
Hometown:	Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia
Family:	Oliver Quimby Melton (father), Mary Ella Davenport Melton (Mother), Oliver Quimby Melton, Jr. (brother)
Rank:	Second Lieutenant
Branch of Service:	U.S. Army
Servicenumber:	O-1032228
Entered the Service from:	Georgia
Function:	Platoon Leader
Regiment:	113th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron
Battalion:	–
Division:	113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized)
Company:	B Troop
Unit:	3rd Platoon
Date of death:	3-Oct-44
Status:	KIA
Place of death:	Havert, Germany
Spot:	not available
Awards:	Silver Star, Purple Heart
Gravenumber:	Plot D Row 10 Grave 6
Cemetery:	Netherlands American Cemetery
Biography:	Lt. Fred D. Melton Killed in Action “Lt. Frederick D. Melton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Quimby Melton was killed in action while fighting in Germany on Oct. 3, his parents have been notified by the War Department. He had been overseas two months and had been in the fighting in Germany some 10 days. Lt. Melton was with the mechanized calvary as a reconnaissance patrol leader. He had been in the Army since Nov. 1942 having volunteered his services as soon as he was 18 years of age. At the time, he was a student at the University and left college to enter the Army. Being sent to Fort Riley, Kan. he was assigned to Officers Candidate School on completion of his basic training. Three months later he graduated ranking seventh in his class of 101 graduates and being rated “superior.” He received his commission before he was 19 years of age and was one of the youngest officers in the Army. After service at Riley he was sent to the California Desert for six months, then to forts back in the east and finally to Camp Gordon, Ga. Here he volunteered for overseas duty and was sent to Europe.” – Source: Griffin Daily News
Other information:	“Lt. Melton, one-time cadet at the Citadel, was killed in action in Germany, just across the Holland border, on Oct. 3, 1944. He was with the 113th Cavalry Reconnissance [sic] Sq. at the time. He was killed while attempting to rescue men of his platoon who had been wounded. He received a Presidential citation and the Silver Star. The award says that he ‘displayed courage out of line of duty in rescuing four wounded men and bringing them back to safety. It was while bringing back a fifth wounded man that a German sniper killed him.'” – Source: Letter from Mr. Quimby Melton to Gen. Summerall, Aug. 25, 1948. Courtesy of The Citadel Archives and Museum.Lt. Frederick D. Melton was killed on 3 Oct 1944 while leading his men in a dismounted attack in the German village of Havert. Lt. Melton was hit by small arms fire and died instantly. – Source: The Saga of the Red Horse, Chaplain Ben L. Rose, 1945.

Sources: American Battle Monuments Commission, The Citadel Archive & Museum, Mike Stannard ’65, www.redhorse.nl, Fields of Honor – Database, findagrave.com, Ancestry.com, Arno Lasoe, Sphinx 1943

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