World War II veteran with Cohoes ties dies
A local veteran of World War II, a hero who was the last of a Cohoes-based unit that fought valiantly against the Japanese, passed away last week.
A local veteran of World War II, a hero who was the last of a Cohoes-based unit that fought valiantly against the Japanese, passed away last week.
Wilfred “Spike” Mailloux is believed to be the last survivor of the Battle of Saipan, the war’s largest banzai attack.
Thousands of Japanese soldiers armed with bayonets charged at Mailloux’s 105th regiment. Dozens of men from the Capital Region were killed or wounded, including Mailloux, who was stabbed in the thigh. He was just 20 at the time.
Mailloux was awarded the Purple Heart and came home to have a long career as a systems analyst at General Electric in Schenectady.
Mailloux will be buried at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Waterford.
He was 100 years old.