One month before his death, a schoolteacher turned mess sergeant sat for a portrait still cherished by the son he never got to meet

One month before his death, a schoolteacher turned mess sergeant sat for a portrait still cherished by the son he never got to meet
Caleb O, Simpler in 1941 or early 1942 (Courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives) Home StateCivilian OccupationDelawareBank employeeBranchService NumberU.S. Army32167222TheatersUnitEuropean, AmericanBattery “H,” 61st Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft)AwardsCampaigns/BattlesPurple HeartBattle of the Atlantic Early Life & Family Caleb Oliver Simpler was born in Felton, Delaware, on the evening of March 10, 1917. He was the second child …
William J. Harden c. 1943 (Courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives) ResidencesCivilian OccupationBorn in Maryland, raised in DelawareStudentBranchService NumbersU.S. Army Air ForcesEnlisted 12054590 / Officer O-681855TheaterUnitMediterranean737th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 454th Bombardment Group (Heavy)AwardsCampaigns/BattlesAir Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Purple HeartEuropean strategic bombing campaign Early Life & Family William Joseph Harden was born in Westernport, …
Continue reading 2nd Lieutenant William J. Harden (1921–1944)
An N.C.O. in the 33rd Chemical Decontamination Company, a victim of the infamous Exercise Tiger disaster shortly before D-Day in Normandy
A high school physical education teacher who lost his life on his third day of combat during one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific
A B-17 navigator killed in action during the Allied aerial offensive known as Big Week
A University of Delaware student turned infantryman killed in action in Germany
A sailor who was killed when his cruiser was torpedoed following a fierce battle off Guadalcanal
The first serviceman from Newark to die during World War II
A B-24 pilot in the China Burma India Theater who went missing in action during a mission to Burma