Fred Cotton

Fred Cotton (Aug. 27, 1922 – Sept. 23, 1945) was a Helenwood man wounded in World War II. He died in an automobile accident after returning home from the war.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born Aug. 27, 1922 in Scott County, Fred Cotton was the son of Wayne Cotton (1883-1963) and Armelda Keeton (1887-1981). He had six siblings: Eva Buttram (1909-1996), James A. Cotton Sr. (1911-2008), Milford Cotton (1915-1995), Mertie Lee Martin (1917-1977), Delbert Cotton (1919-2001) and Lula West (1923-2005).

World War II

PFC Cotton enlisted in the U.S. Army and fought in the European theater of World War II. He was in Italy with an infantry unit and was wounded in action. He returned to the United States aboard the U.S.S. Paine Wingate in August 1945.

He received a Purple Heart medal.

Death

PFC Cotton died instantly of a skull fracture caused by an automobile accident that occurred in Oneida on Sept. 23, 1945, just weeks after he returned home from war. He was buried at Cotton Cemetery in the Cherry Fork community near Helenwood.

He is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida, the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.