A career sailor who served aboard a famed American cruiser lost in the dark opening months of the Pacific War

A career sailor who served aboard a famed American cruiser lost in the dark opening months of the Pacific War
A plumber/pipefitter turned Army Air Forces firefighter caught up in a tragic accident at an airfield in Italy
A career soldier with over two decades' service in the segregated U.S. Army who boarded an ill-fated flight when he was rotated home from the Pacific
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)
A nurse destined to become the only servicewoman from Delaware to die overseas during World War II
A high school football star turned tank crewman killed in action during the drive on Rome
An infantryman from Wilmington who wrote a haunting letter shortly before he was killed in action in Normandy
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 B-24 gunner who lost his life when he bailed out over the North Sea after his plane was hit on a mission to Germany