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| Malken, Jerry J. |
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The Story of Pvt Jerry J. Malken and the Crew of “Florence Pvt Jerry J. Malken, served as the assistant driver of the light tank “Florence”—an M5A1 Stuart bearing the registration number 3089877. The crew of Florence was a tight-knit four‑man team:
On October 27, Troop F was ordered to counterattack German forces pushing along the Berkenheg in Meijel, a narrow rural lane bordered by fields and hedgerows. The fighting was intense, close, and chaotic—typical of the Peel marshlands. As Florence advanced to repel the German assault, the tank was struck by a German 88 mm round—a devastating hit that ignited the vehicle almost instantly. Flames engulfed the interior. Only Sgt. Booth managed to escape the burning tank, badly wounded but alive. Hegnes, Lusardi, and Malken perished inside. In the aftermath of the battle, the remains recovered from the tank were difficult to identify due to the fire. Jerry J. Malken was initially buried at the American cemetery in Margraten as Unknown X‑39. Only later, through careful review and identification efforts, was he correctly recognized and reinterred under his own name—restoring his identity and honoring his sacrifice.
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