First Lieutenant Robert F. Coffey served in the United States Army during the Second World War as an officer of Company A, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. Born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, he lived at 1 Walnut Street with his mother Alice S. Coffey and three sisters. His father, Clarence D. Coffey, had died in 1929. Coffey enlisted during the mobilisation of American forces and was commissioned as a lieutenant, receiving the service number O‑1290718.
The 29th Infantry Division was one of the principal American assault formations assigned to Omaha Beach for Operation Overlord. Coffey’s regiment, the 115th Infantry, landed on 6 June 1944 under heavy fire. The division’s advance inland was marked by intense fighting in the bocage country, where small-unit leadership was critical. Coffey’s actions during these operations earned him the Silver Star for gallantry and the Purple Heart. Records also list two Gold Star notifications issued to his family.
Coffey married Joyce Alice Hall of Plymouth on 18 March 1944 at St Catherine’s Church. American servicemen stationed in Devon frequently formed connections with local families during the long period of training before D‑Day. Camps and depots across South Devon housed units of the 29th Division, and the region’s proximity to embarkation ports made it a major centre of American military activity. Coffey’s marriage reflects this wartime link between Devon and the United States.
After landing on Omaha Beach, Coffey’s unit advanced toward Saint‑Lô, a key objective in the early Normandy campaign. He was killed in action on 8 June 1944 at the age of 23 during the fighting in the Basse‑Normandie region. His death occurred only two days after the initial landings. The circumstances of his actions were recognised by the award of the Silver Star, presented posthumously to his widow and mother, as recorded in contemporary American newspaper reports.
Coffey is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville‑sur‑Mer, in Plot H, Row 17, Grave 8. The cemetery contains the graves of thousands of American servicemen who died during the Normandy campaign. His burial there places him among the earliest casualties of the 29th Division’s advance inland from Omaha Beach.
Following the war, Joyce Alice Hall returned to Devon, where her husband’s name was added to the memorial in St Mary’s Church, Berry Pomeroy. Although Coffey was American, his marriage into a local family and his presence in Devon before D‑Day created a direct connection with the parish. His inclusion on the memorial reflects the wartime relationship between the village and the American forces stationed in the region.
First Lieutenant Robert F. Coffey’s service illustrates the role of junior officers in the Normandy landings and the personal links formed between American servicemen and British communities. His death during the early stages of the campaign, his burial in Normandy, and his commemoration in Berry Pomeroy together preserve the record of a young officer whose life and service bridged two countries during the largest amphibious operation of the war.
