This is the fourth in a series of articles about the enlisted men who served in the unit while it was overseas between January 14, 1943 and May 8, 1945. See Introduction to Enlisted Men of the 32nd Station Hospital for details pertaining to research and curatorial decisions in how I’m presenting them.
Frank R. Dagostino (almost certainly Frank Ralph Dagostino, Francesco Dagostino), 42068460 (almost certainly February 14, 1915 – December 26, 1979)
Dagostino was drafted and joined the U.S. Army in New York City on January 21, 1944. His enlistment card data stated that he was a resident of Westchester County, New York, born in 1915, with a grammar school education. His civilian occupation was “Skilled welders and flame cutters,” and he was listed as married.
Private Dagostino was one of 61 men who joined the 32nd Station Hospital from the 7th Replacement Depot at 1000 hours on November 12, 1944. The transfer document indicated he was Infantry Branch with M.O.S. 521 (basic). The group of men included combat veterans and appear to have health issues which made further field duty difficult. Indeed, hospital admission card entries indicate that Private Dagostino was hospitalized twice in September 1944 for medical reasons.
Private Dagostino went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome from December 10–14, 1944. He was promoted to private 1st class on February 15, 1945. He was promoted to technician 5th grade on August 27, 1945. At the time of his promotion, his M.O.S. was listed as 657 (medical aidman or hospital orderly). He was transferred to the 61st Station Hospital effective September 12, 1945.
A probable match was a man born Francesco Dagostino in Mount Kisco, New York. He was the son of Italian immigrants, Savino and Maria Dagostino. He had two sisters and three brothers and had changed his name to Frank by 1930. Dagostino was recorded on the 1940 census working as a mason. Later that year, when he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was working for O’Brien & Kimbel in Mount Kisco.
He and his wife Margaret (1920–1974) raised a son and two daughters. He moved to Boynton Beach, Florida, prior to his death. His headstone states that he reached the grade of technician 5th grade in the U.S. Army during World War II, consistent with the 32nd Station Hospital’s Dagostino. The only reason for my “almost certainly” disclaimer is that he has a fairly common name and his entry in the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File did not contain service dates that I could cross-reference to his enlistment record.
Rocco Peter Dalto, 32244688 (December 17, 1919 – December 17, 1999)
Dalto was born in Palisades Park, New Jersey, to Michael (a wooden box maker at a box factory) and Carmella Dalto. Just after his birth, he was recorded on the census on January 2, 1920, with the name Rock D’Alto, living with his parents and four older siblings (two brothers, two sisters). On April 25, 1930, he was recorded on the census living in North Bergen, New Jersey, with his father, stepmother Marie, three siblings, and five stepsiblings. According to his enlistment data, he had a grammar school education.
When Dalto registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was back living in Palisades Park and working as a laborer for Armour Soap Works in North Bergen, New Jersey. The registrar described him as standing approximately five feet, nine inches tall and weighing 155 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes and a scar on his forehead.
After he was drafted, Dalto joined the U.S. Army at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on March 3, 1942. A digitized hospital admission card under Dalto’s service number stated that in July 1944, Dalto was a member of an infantry unit and was wounded in the arm by a bullet or other projectile. He was discharged from the hospital in September 1944.
Private 1st Class Dalto joined the 32nd Station Hospital in Caserta, Italy, on March 9, 1945, per Special Order No. 64, Headquarters Peninsular Base Section. His M.O.S. was listed as 669 (military policeman, occupied territory). 32nd Station Hospital records indicate that by April 3, 1945, his M.O.S. was 522 (duty soldier I). That M.O.S. was not in a the station hospital tables of organization and equipment, but at least some 522s performed guard duty at the 32nd Station Hospital.
Private 1st Class Dalto was assigned to the 194th Military Police Company on April 3, 1945, but remained with the 32nd Station Hospital on detached service until April 27, 1945. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File stated that he was discharged from the U.S. Army on November 26, 1945. He married Sadie (Sally) Rosaria Vinciguerra (circa 1927–2020) in the town of West New York, New Jersey, in November 1952. Around 1955, the Daltos settled in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where they raised two daughters.
Dalto’s obituary, printed in The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey) on December 18, 1999, stated that “Before retiring, he was a utility driver for Ford Motor Co., Mahwah.” He died on his 80th birthday.
Olson Damon (Olson Charles Damon), 38010557 (September 13, 1918 – March 29, 1999)
Damon was born in Chinle, Arizona. He was Navajo. Damon was recorded on the census (as Oleson Damon) on April 20, 1930, living in McKinley County, New Mexico. He was listed as the adopted son of Charley Damon (a rancher), who also had three biological children (a daughter and two sons). His adoptive mother’s name was not recorded on the census, which referred to her only as Mrs. Damon, though she was listed as TahaBah Damon on an April 1, 1930, Southern Navajo census roll. The latter census roll had them listed as living in Fort Defiance Village, Arizona, though that was crossed off.
A July 27, 1945, article in The Pampa News (Pampa, Texas) stated that Damon “attended a military academy in Arizona.” His enlistment data card and discharge paperwork recorded only a grammar school education. When he registered for the draft on October 15, 1940, Damon was living in Tohatchi, New Mexico. At the time, the registrar described him as standing approximately six feet tall and weighing 145 lbs., with brown hair and eyes (though his discharge paperwork in 1945 gave his height as five feet, 11 inches, his weight as 150 lbs., and his hair color as black). His civilian occupation was described as ranch work.
Damon was drafted before the U.S. entered World War II. A January 15, 1941, article in The Gallup Independent (Gallup, New Mexico) stated that he had been notified that day that he had been selected. Damon joined the U.S. Army in Santa Fe, New Mexico on January 22, 1941. His Enlisted Record and Report of Separation paperwork stated that he went overseas on June 8, 1943, arriving in theatre on June 22, 1943. Those dates coincide with the dates that the 45th Infantry Division departed from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation and arrived in North Africa. Damon’s discharge paperwork shows that he served in the 180th Infantry Regiment; information obtained by researcher Dave Kerr shows that he served in Company “I.”
Damon earned the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters—that is, he was wounded three times in combat. His was wounded for the first time on July 11, 1943, in Sicily, the second day of the invasion. A digitized hospital admission card under his service number stated that he suffered a fractured scapula due to a shell fragment or explosion. He returned to duty that same month. He was hospitalized with hepatitis in November 1943 but again returned to duty. Damon was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge on April 23, 1944. According to his discharge paperwork, Damon was wounded a second time on May 13, 1944 (which would have been at Anzio), and on May 26, 1944 (which would have been during the breakout from Anzio). The was only a single extant hospital admission card under his service number for that month, which reported that he was wounded in his neck by shell fragments and returned to duty in June 1944.
An article by Sergeant Jack Raymond entitled “‘Our Patrols Were Active’ May Mean Americans Died”—printed in the Naples edition of The Stars and Stripes on May 22, 1944)—focused in large part on Staff Sergeant Damon, stating that “One day he killed 20 Germans while sniping with an M-1 and followed it up with 17 more the next day. He is one of the best reconnaissance men in the outfit, they say.”
Raymond’s article related Damon’s account of a night patrol that went awry while crossing barbed wire in front of a German position. The Germans illuminated the patrol with flares and opened fire with machine guns. Sergeant Damon, identified as one of the patrol’s guides, was quoted in part:
“We figured they had two machine guns there. […] At 20 yards they sent flares up and it was like daylight. Then, just as we were going over the wire, five machine guns opened up in our faces. The patrol was disorganized and guys were getting killed all around me. I smacked my knee against an S-mine, but nothing exploded. The lieutenant got plugged in the shoulder, trying to get one of the men off the wire.
“I was in on the Sicily fighting and the Italian invasion but that was the hottest spot I had known and I thought I was done for. I decided to crawl, but fast. It paid, too. The lieutenant was right behind me. […] When we got to our lines, he told me to report immediately to the CP [command post] and tell them what happened.”
Raymond continued that “After reporting, Sgt. Damon twice returned to the scene. The first time, he directed one of the other patrols back to our lines.” Damon continued his narrative:
[“]The next time we found a wounded man and started crawling, dragging him back. The bullets continued to spray the air. […] I knew I wouldn’t make it just by crawling, so I took a chance. I stood straight up, with this man in my arms. They didn’t fire at me. I don’t know why. I don’t suppose it was sportsmanship, the bastards.”
Raymond’s assessment of the patrol was blunt, writing that of the men on the patrol, “Five are dead. Six are missing. Four got back, and two of them were wounded. Not all of our patrols are successful. Americans die even when the communique has nothing to report.”
The account in The Stars and Stripes seems to be consistent with an incident at Anzio mentioned in the 180th Infantry Regiment after action report for May 1944:
A strong patrol jumped off at [2230 hours on 14] May 1944 from Garibaldi’s tomb in the vicinity of Carano, on a mission which had as its objective the reduction of an enemy strong point about 500 yards to the front. Two squads moved up to the left side of the ditch leading to the strong point. One squad proceeded North on the right side of the ditch, while the fourth squad advanced up the ditch itself. The leader of the squad on the right contacted an enemy mine field and an enemy shu mine exploded and wounded the squad leader severely. The squad attempted to continue and get in position for the attack but other members of the squad hit mines and they were forced to withdraw after suffering casualties. On the left, one squad was in the midst of moving through double apron wire when heavy enemy machine gun fire was received. The enemy fired illuminating flares and opened up with several machine guns. Potato masher grenades were exploding all around the squad’s position. An officer and an enlisted man each quieted an enemy machine gun. The officer was wounded in the attempt. Several others in the squad were casualties and the men were forced to withdraw.
According to an article from the June 15, 1944, issue ofThe Gallup Independent, entitled “Sgt. Damon Gets Wound In Neck From Nazi Bullet”:
The Nazis finally “got” Staff Sergeant Olson Damon. Fort Defiance Navajo boy whose exploit in killing 37 Germans in two days of sniping was publicized in the Italy edition of Stars and Stripes recently.
A V-mail letter from him today revealed that he was in a hospital suffering from a gunshot wound through the neck, but he wrote that he was getting along fine.
Sergeant Olson’s letter [was] dated May 30, about ten days after the army newspaper’s account of his sharp-shooting feat, which was printed in The Daily Independent last week. He is a son of Jim [sic] Damon, well known Navajo of the Fort Defiance district.
During Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the South of France, Staff Sergeant Damon earned the Silver Star Medal. According to a transcription of the citation posted on Home of Heroes, Staff Sergeant Damon earned the medal
for gallantry in action on 15 August 1944 near St. Pierre, France. When an enemy strongpoint blocked the advance of his platoon, Sergeant Damon skillfully led his squad along a covered approach and prepared to assault the hostile position. After maneuvering his squad unseen to within fifty-yards of the enemy strongpoint, Sergeant Damon led his men in an aggressive assault and succeeded in silencing the machine gun, killing seven of the enemy and capturing three more. Sustaining no casualties in his reduction of the enemy strongpoint, Sergeant Damon returned vital information of other enemy installations.
Damon was hospitalized again in September 1944, apparently due to complications from his previous wounds. Staff Sergeant Damon was one of 61 men who joined the 32nd Station Hospital in Caserta, Italy, from the 7th Replacement Depot at 1000 hours on November 12, 1944. This group included a significant number of combat veterans, many whom had been wounded or injured and who were no longer able to perform field duty. The transfer document indicated he was Infantry Branch with the M.O.S. 566 (duty N.C.O.); he apparently kept that M.O.S. until his discharge. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from December 6–10, 1944.
Staff Sergeant Damon was decorated with the Silver Star (earned for his earlier exploits with the 45th Infantry Division per General Order No. 209, Headquarters 45th Infantry Division dated September 18, 1944) in a ceremony at the hospital on January 23, 1945. He left the 32nd Station Hospital on May 29, 1945, to return home to the United States via the 27th Replacement Depot. He left Italy on June 16, 1945, arriving back in the U.S. on June 22, 1945. In addition to the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, Damon earned the Good Conduct Medal and credit for the Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, and Southern France campaigns. Staff Sergeant Damon was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on July 4, 1945.
Although his military records did not list a middle initial, postwar records give his name as Olson Charles Damon. Immediately after leaving the military, he became a brakeman for the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad and married Roma Dale Speck (1922–1977) in Texas on or around July 21, 1945. His obituary, reproduced on his Find a Grave page, stated that “He retired as a railroad conductor after 38 years.”
The Damons made their home in Amarillo, Texas, and had at least five children: three daughters and two sons. One child, Jim Charles Damon, died in a tragic accident in Amarillo, Texas, in 1956, aged six. By 1974, the Damons had been living in Amarillo for 25 years. A newspaper article mentioned that their house was damaged by a tornado. After his first wife’s death, Damon remarried on June 16, 1977, to Bettie Jo Decker (née Crumpton, 1929–1997). Damon died on March 29, 1999, aged 80.
Alfred Francis Darmstadt, 12021018 (March 18, 1918 – October 3, 1995)
Darmstadt was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of John L. and Rosalie C. Darmstadt. His father was a clerk and later an auditor at a bank; his mother had immigrated to the United States from Germany. Darmstadt had an older brother and a younger sister. The 1920 federal and 1925 New York censuses recorded the family living in Queens. By the time they were recorded again on the census in April 1930, the family had moved to Freeport Village in Nassau County, New York. At the time of the next census on April 13, 1940, Darmstadt was living with his family in Roosevelt (a hamlet in Hempstead, New York). The census enumerator’s handwriting was a bit hard to read, but it appears that his occupation was butcher at a retail meat market.
When Darmstadt registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was working for Charles W. Stelter in nearby Merrick. The registrar described him as standing approximately five feet, eight inches tall and weighing 160 lbs., with brown hair and eyes.
Darmstadt volunteered for the U.S. Army in New York City on November 13, 1940. His enlistment data card indicates that had a grammar school education and enlisted into the Regular Army (Infantry Branch).
Private Darmstadt joined the 32nd Station Hospital in Tlemcen, Algeria, transferring from the 1st Replacement Depot on October 25, 1943. He was transferred to the Detachment of Patients, 51st Station Hospital on December 6, 1943, but rejoined the unit (now located in Caserta, Italy) on January 27, 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from November 16–20, 1944. On May 29, 1945, he was transferred to the 27th Replacement Depot to return to the United States.
It appears that Darmstadt met his wife Carmela Rociola (1918–1998) during his service in Italy. When she petitioned for naturalization in 1950, she stated that they married on May 28, 1945, in St. Nicola la Strada, which was located a short distance southeast of the 32nd Station Hospital compound in Caserta. Carmela arrived in New York on April 4, 1946. Their first child, a daughter, was born in New York; they also had a son. By July 1950, the Darmstadts had moved to Chicago, Illinois. His entry in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File, Cook County death records, and obituary in the Chicago Tribune state that Darmstadt died on October 3, 1995 (though curiously, Social Security Administration records gave his date of death as October 15, 1995).
Thomas Hardwick Davis, 34195979 (September 1, 1914 – September 11, 1984)
Davis was born in Kite, Georgia. It appears that he was the son of James A. and Zona Davis. James A. Davis, a postmaster, appeared on 1910 census living with his wife Gertrude (who died later that year) and eight children in Kite. That Zona was Thomas Davis’s mother is conjecture based on her being James A. Davis’s wife at the time of his death in 1920. When he was recorded on the census on January 5, 1920, Thomas was living with his older half-brother Grady (Henry Grady in some sources) and six other older siblings in Alma, Georgia.
When Davis registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was living with (and working for) his bother “J. Foy Davis” in Waycross, Georgia. The registrar described him as standing approximately five feet, six inches tall and weighing 119 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes. Curiously, his brother’s draft card was filled out with the name Foye Davis. Foy’s employer was listed as “Cab Operator” and the address of employment as “(Parts Business)” in Waycross, Georgia.
Davis was drafted. His enlistment data card stated that he completed grammar school and his occupation was salesman. Davis joined the U.S. Army at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 10, 1942.
Private 1st Class Davis was transferred from the Detachment, Medical Department, 4th Service Command at Fort Benning, Georgia, to the 32nd Station Hospital per Special Order No. 292 (Headquarters Fort Benning, November 28, 1942). His duty was listed as surgical technician. He was promoted to technician 5th grade prior to July 24, 1943, when he was promoted to technician 4th grade. On August 15, 1944, he was promoted to technician 3rd grade. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from December 10–14, 1944. He was one of a handful of enlisted men who served with the unit the entire time it was overseas. After the 32nd Station Hospital arrived at the Boston Port of Embarkation on October 8, 1945, he was transferred to the Reception Center at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. At the time of his departure from the unit, his M.O.S. was still 861 (surgical technician). He was discharged from the U.S. Army on October 14, 1945, at Fort Gordon, Georgia. He moved to South Miami at some point after the war and died in Dade County, Florida, aged 70.
Despite his common name, the factual basis of the wartime years in the biography above is solid. I cross-referenced the service number in 32nd Station Hospital records to an enlistment data card that gave his residence as Ware County, Georgia, and his year of birth as 1914. The only Thomas H. Davis to register for the draft in Ware County was Thomas Hardwick Davis, born on September 1, 1914. A Thomas H. Davis with that date of birth, the correct enlistment date, a discharge date of October 14, 1945, and the date of death above appears in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File. Tying everything together is a text-only entry in the Georgia Military Discharge Records database on FamilySearch. It states that Thomas H. Davis (born in Kite, Georgia, service number 34195979) was discharged at Fort Gordon on October 14, 1945. His unit was erroneously listed as the 32nd General Hospital.
His obituary, published in The Miami Herald on September 12, 1984, includes some contradictory details, describing Davis as
a resident of South Miami since 1929, coming from Wrightsville, Ga. […] He was in the automotive business with his brother, Jack Davis. He served his country in the Armed Forces from 1941 thru 1943 in Italy, later sold real estate in the Fla. Keys.
Wrightsville, like Kite, is in Johnson County, Georgia. The statement that he had moved to Florida in 1929 raises the biggest point of doubt that this obituary refers to the correct Thomas H. Davis, since the 32nd Station Hospital’s Davis was living in Georgia in 1940. I was unable to locate Thomas Davis on the 1930 or 1940 censuses in either Florida or Georgia. Jack Davis would seem to be J. Foy Davis (who was in an automotive-related business as of 1940) and his military service did include Italy, albeit with years of service being 1942–1945, not 1941–1943.
The obituary stated that he was involved with several nursery/landscaping businesses until his retirement in 1979. He and his wife Norma raised two daughters.
Stanley Edward Delinski, 36316497 (April 16, 1916 – July 5, 1974)
Delinski was born and raised in Cicero, Illinois, the son of Polish immigrants, Peter and Frances Delinski. He had at least two older brothers, two older sisters, and two younger sisters. When he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, Delinski was employed by the Thornburg Manufacturing Company. He was described as standing five feet, 7½ inches tall and weighing 160 lbs., with brown hair and hazel eyes. According to his enlistment data card, Delinski’s occupation was a clerk at the time he was drafted.
An article, printed on January 26, 1945, in Berwyn Life (Berwyn, Illinois) stated that “Delinski was graduated from Morton High School in 1933. He was formerly employed by Sears Roebuck and Co., in Chicago.”
Delinski joined the U.S. Army at Camp Grant, Illinois on February 6, 1942. Technician 4th Grade Delinski was transferred to the 32nd Station Hospital on October 19, 1942, per Special Order No. 282, Headquarters Medical Replacement Training Center, Camp Grant, Illinois. He most likely joined the unit soon after at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Shortly thereafter, the unit moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, and then Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, before going overseas on January 14, 1943.
Technician 4th Grade Delinksi served with the unit during operations in Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1943 and Caserta, Italy, in 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from September 29, 1944–October 3, 1944, and again from January 15–19, 1945.
On August 5, 1945, he was one of 15 men who left on temporary duty to Switzerland. They returned on August 13, 1945. He went on detached service to Staging Area No. 1 in Bagnoli on August 22, 1945. There are some missing records, but it appears the seven enlisted men and three officers who went to the staging area shipped out back to the United States ahead of the rest of the unit; an October 7, 1945, morning report entry stated that they were on temporary duty to the United States as an advance detachment and were being transferred to the Boston Port of Embarkation, though some members of the unit had already been discharged by that point. The rest of the unit arrived in the United States on October 8, 1945.
Delinski married Mary Grant, with whom he had a son and a daughter. His wife died in 1951. According to his obituary, published in Berwyn Life on July 10, 1974, he “was a control buyer for Sears and Roebuck Company of Melrose Park.”
He died in Berwyn, Illinois, aged 58. Although he was deceased by then, Delinski’s name appeared on a list of members compiled for the 1982 reunion who had lost contact with the rest of the unit due to outdated addresses. Indeed, his last known address matched the one on his 1940 draft card.
George T. Dennis, Jr. (George Theodore Dennis), 34031033 (May 9, 1913 – May 25, 1977)
Dennis was born in Montgomery County, North Carolina. He was the son of George T. Dennis and Mary Jane Bean Dennis. Although some census and all known military records refer to him as George T. Dennis, Jr., other sources (marriage records, obituaries, death records) indicate that his name was George Theodore Dennis (no suffix) and that his father was George Thomas Dennis. Dennis had at least three sisters and six brothers (several of whom also served during World War II).
The Dennis family was recorded on the census on April 8, 1930, living in Thomasville. The next census, on May 1, 1940, listed the family living in Tabernacle Township, North Carolina, a short distance southeast of Thomasville. Both the elder George Thomas and his son were listed as farmers. Later that year, when he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, Dennis was living with and working for his father back in Thomasville.
Dennis was drafted before the U.S. entered World War II. He joined the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on March 12, 1941. His enlistment data card stated that he was a farmhand and had completed one year of high school (though the 1940 census stated he had only finished grammar school). His discharge paperwork described him as standing five feet, six inches tall and weighing 123 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes.
I was unable to find the exact date that Private Dennis joined the 32nd Station Hospital, but he was a member of the unit by the beginning of February 1943 (when the unit began operations in Tlemcen, Algeria); his name appeared in a payroll record that month.
Dennis was promoted to private 1st class on May 12, 1943. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal on August 13, 1943. A September 11, 1943, morning report states he was hospitalized, but he returned to duty on September 23, 1943. He remained with the unit during operations in Caserta, Italy, through the end of the war in Europe. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from November 20–24, 1944. On May 29, 1945, he was transferred to the 7th Replacement Depot to return to the United States. His discharge paperwork stated that he sailed for the United States on June 30, 1945. Private 1st Class Dennis arrived back in the U.S. on July 17, 1945, and was honorably discharged at Fort Bragg on July 22, 1945. His M.O.S. was recorded as 522 (guard-patrolman).
As a side note, Dennis’s discharge paperwork helped clear up a minor mystery. U.S. Army World War II M.O.S.s can be difficult to interpret. They changed throughout the war, with some being added or dropped; men sometimes temporarily kept an M.O.S. that had been dropped from the latest list. Another issue is that each M.O.S. number could have multiple job titles associated with it. 657 referred to a medical aidman, but 657s in a hospital context were hospital orderlies. 522 (duty soldier I) is a bit of a catchall, described in Training Manual 12-427 as “a broad classification covering enlisted men who perform various nontactical and nontechnical duties requiring only a moderate degree of responsibility and skill and involving no specialized training or experience.” 522 was not actually in the tables of organization and equipment (T/O&E) for a station hospital. One of Colonel Goss’s reports mentioned that the hospital needed guards in excess of the T/O&E; the hospital compounds were not part of larger bases, which would have provided security. A 522 could be a guard-patrolman, and I suspected this might be the case of the 32nd Station Hospital’s 522s. However, Dennis’s discharge paperwork was the first explicit example directly supporting that. That said, I cannot be certain that all 522s in the hospital performed that duty.
Dennis married Florence Bean in Davidson County, North Carolina, on or around January 6, 1962. He died in Denton, North Carolina on May 25, 1977, aged 64. His obituary, printed in the Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina) on May 26, 1977, stated in part that he “was a retired employe[e] of Global Furniture Co. in Denton and a veteran of World War II. He was a member of Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in Thomasville.”
Fred George DeRemer (Frederick G. DeRemer), 36127921 (December 8, 1916 – March 10, 1985)
DeRemer was born in Turner, Michigan. He was the son of Earl (whose occupation was variously recorded as a barber or truck driver) and Elizabeth DeRemer. His mother had immigrated from Canada. DeRemer’s military records (as well as his marriage record) were under the name Fred, while other records give his first name was Frederick. Some records spell his last name as De Remer.
DeRemer was recorded on the census on January 5, 1920, living in Pinconning Township in Bay County, Michigan. At the time, he was living at his paternal grandmother Orilla DeRemer’s house with his parents and younger brother. His parents apparently separated during the decade that followed. DeRemer was recorded on the 1930 and 1940 censuses as living with his paternal grandfather, Fred or Frederick Ball (as well as his mother and brother) in Burleigh Township, near Whittemore, Michigan. However, he apparently did not live there continuously, since census records indicate he was living in Turner, Michigan as of April 1, 1935. His occupation was listed as farmhand on the 1940 census. Later that year, when he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he stated that he was living in Whittemore and was a self-employed fireman (!). The registrar described him as standing five feet, nine inches tall and weighing 130 lbs., with brown hair and gray eyes. DeRemer’s enlistment data stated that he was a farmhand with a grammar school education (which is supported by census records).
DeRemer was drafted before the U.S. entered World War II. He joined the U.S. Army in Detroit, Michigan on September 18, 1941. Private 1st Class DeRemer was transferred to the 32nd Station Hospital from the 1st Replacement Depot on October 25, 1943. He joined the unit in Tlemcen, Algeria, and later served with the unit in Caserta, Italy. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from October 15–19, 1944. As of April 2, 1945, his M.O.S. was listed as 055 (clerk, general) and main civilian occupation was 014 (automotive mechanic). On April 2, 1945, he was transferred to the 7th Replacement Depot for rotation back to the United States. His entry in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File stated that he was discharged from the U.S. Army on June 5, 1945.
DeRemer married Marian E. Maxwell (an inspector and later beautician, 1922–2014) on May 12, 1945, in Hampton Township in Bay County, Michigan. Apparently, they had one daughter. DeRemer appeared on a 1952 Bay City, Michigan, directory as a mechanic.
DeRemer died in Saginaw, Michigan, aged 68.
Raymond Vernon Desorcy, 11050624 (March 28, 1924 – April 16, 1945)
Desorcy was born in Millbury, Massachusetts, on March 28, 1924. He was the son of Alexander L. Desorcy (a wool weaver and later laborer) and Mary Schofield Desorcy. Desorcy was recorded on the census on April 17, 1930, living in the village of Saundersville in Grafton, Massachusetts, along with his parents, two sisters, and three brothers. His brother, Alfred, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
According to Desorcy’s enlistment data card, before he joined the military, he had completed grammar school, was living in Worcester County, Massachusetts—where both Millbury and Grafton are located—and was working in a textile factory. Military paperwork stated that Desorcy stood five feet, 6½ inches tall and weighed 132 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes, and that his religious preference was Catholic.
Desorcy volunteered for the U.S. Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in Boston on April 10, 1942, and was briefly stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. That same month, he transferred to the Medical Replacement Training Center at Camp Lee, Virginia. As of June 9, 1942, Private Desorcy was a member of the 9th Medical Training Battalion. He was briefly stationed at the Medical Replacement Training Center at Camp Pickett, Virginia, before he was assigned to the 32nd Station Hospital on September 4, 1942, per Transfer Order No. 978. Private Desorcy joined the unit at Camp Rucker, Alabama, on September 10, 1942. The following month, on October 26, 1942, the unit moved to Fort Benning, Georgia. On December 27, 1942, the unit departed for Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, by train, arriving the following day.
On the morning of January 13, 1943, the main body of the 32nd Station Hospital boarded the transport U.S.S. Ancon (AP-66) at the New York Port of Embarkation. The following day, the ship sailed for Algeria. After an uneventful sea journey, Ancon arrived at the port of Mers-el-Kébir, near Oran, Algeria, on January 26, 1943. The following day, the 32nd Station Hospital disembarked and went into staging in nearby Bouisseville. In Algeria, the hospital was part of the Mediterranean Base Section.
On February 18, 1943, the main body of the unit moved inland to Tlemcen, Algeria. During 1943, the 32nd Station Hospital treated battle casualties from campaigns in Tunisia and Sicily, as well as sick or injured personnel from nearby military facilities, such as the Fifth Army’s Tank Destroyer Training Center in Sebdou, Algeria.
On November 28, 1943, the 32nd Station Hospital ceased operations in Tlemcen. On the night of December 7, 1943, the unit left Tlemcen by train and truck, going into staging outside of Oran. On December 15, 1943, the unit’s men shipped out for Italy. Upon arrival in Naples on December 18, 1943, the men went into staging near Bagnoli. In Italy, the hospital was under the operational control of the Peninsular Base Section, which included many rear echelon support units. Private Desorcy went on detached service with the 23rd General Hospital on January 2, 1944. He returned to the 32nd Station Hospital on January 10, 1944, the same day that the unit moved north by ground to a compound in Caserta. The hospital began accepting patients on January 15, 1944.
On the afternoon of July 27, 1944, Private Desorcy went on detached service to the Prophylaxis Station in Caserta per verbal order of the Surgeon, Peninsular Base Section. He returned to the 32nd Station Hospital on August 22, 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from October 27–31, 1944.
During the fall of 1944, apparently due to a manpower shortage, 61 enlisted men from the 32nd Station Hospital were dispatched to field duty in exchange for 61 reclassified men, largely wounded or injured combat veterans. As part of this process, Private Desorcy and 15 other men transferred to the 1st Replacement Depot on November 17, 1944. By March 30, 1945, Desorcy had been promoted to private 1st class and was a member of the Medical Detachment, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. The regiment had arrived in Naples on January 13, 1945 and the following month, the unit participated in an offensive at Monte Belvedere in the northern Apennine Mountains.
It appears that by mid-April 1945, Private 1st Class Desorcy was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment aid station. On April 13, 1945, the Fifth Army launched its final offensive of the war. The objective was to smash the German defenses of the Gothic Line (Green Line) in the northern Apennines and break out into the Po Valley, allowing the Allies to encircle most of the remaining German forces in Italy.
According to Captain George F. Earle’s book, History of the 87th Mountain Infantry in Italy, on the afternoon of April 14, 1945, 2nd Battalion, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment was ordered to take Monte Pigna. The following morning, April 15, 1945, Company “E” led the assault on Monte Pigna, supported by Company “F.” The battalion dislodged the German defenders.
Earle wrote in his book:
Early in the day the battalion aid station had moved to Mo. Dozzone, southeast of Mt. Pigna. From here they handled the large number of casualties of the day over a litter haul of three difficult miles. Prisoners were used to carry many of the litters because of the shortage of litter bearers.
By the afternoon of April 16, 1945, the 2nd Battalion aid station had moved up to Monte Pigna. Although the Americans had taken the mountain, Pigna was still within range of artillery. Earle continued:
During the afternoon the advance 2nd Battalion aid station was hit and suffered six killed and nine wounded. Killed from the 2nd Battalion were Pfc. RAYMOND V. DE SORCY, Pfc. WILLIAM G. MILLER, Pvt. SAMUEL L. IRVIN, and Pvt. GEORGE SMITH, JR.
In addition to four men from the 87th Infantry Regiment killed in the attack, Corporal Fields C. Cox and Private 1st Class Clark F. Walker of Company “C,” 10th Medical Battalion, were also killed.
The spring offensive was successful, but costly: The Allies suffered over 16,000 casualties. Of the 16 men transferred from the 32nd Station Hospital to the 1st Replacement Depot for eventual field duty on November 17, 1944, three were killed during the offensive: Private 1st Class William H. Kreis on April 13, 1945, Carmon C. Lewis (described as a private 1st class or a technician 5th grade in various sources) on April 14, 1945, and Private 1st Class Desorcy on April 16, 1945. German forces in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945, less than a week before the final capitulation of the Nazi regime.
On June 27, 1945, Private 1st Class Desorcy’s remains and those of five other men killed in the explosion at the aid station were buried at the U.S. Military Cemetery, Castelfiorentino—located near Florence—in Plot Z, Row 70, Common Grave 3575. Individual identification proved impossible and on January 10, 1950, they were reburied in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 34, Graves 4923 and 4924.
Emmett Patrick Devereaux, 36232545 (December 18, 1919 – March 2, 1979)
“Bud” Devereaux was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. He was the son of John (who worked at Cantwell Printing Company as a shipping clerk and later as a truck driver) and Mary Devereaux, both immigrated from Ireland. He had an older brother, John Michael Devereaux who also served. Devereaux graduated from Edgewood High School in Madison.
When he was recorded on the census on April 17, 1940, Devereaux was living with his family and working as a truck driver. When he registered for the draft on July 1, 1941, Devereaux was working as a service man for the Soft Water Supply Company (Servisoft) in Madison. According to his discharge paperwork, Devereaux stood five feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 147 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes. His occupation was recorded as maintenance mechanic.
Devereaux was drafted shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the U.S. Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, on January 20, 1942. Devereaux was a member of the original cadre of the 32nd Station Hospital, 25 enlisted men at Camp Rucker, Alabama. He may have joined as early as June 26, 1942, but he was definitely a member by August 7, 1942, when the unit’s recordkeeping began. The earliest mention of him in the unit’s morning reports is August 12, 1942, when he began a furlough. He returned on August 21, 1942. On August 13, 1942, he was promoted to private 1st class. He was promoted to technician 5th grade on October 12, 1942, shortly before the unit relocated to Fort Benning, Georgia.
Technician 5th Grade Devereaux moved with the unit to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and went overseas on January 14, 1943. While serving in Tlemcen, Algeria, he was promoted to technician 4th grade on April 8, 1943. He served in the unit’s dental section. He received the Good Conduct Medal in 1943.
Technician 4th Grade Devereaux remained with the unit when operations began in Caserta, Italy, in January 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from September 25–29, 1944, and again from December 22–26, 1944. After V-E Day, on July 31, 1945, he began a temporary duty assignment to Medical Section, Headquarters Peninsular Base Section, returning on August 2, 1945. On August 6, 1945, he began a temporary duty assignment to the 31st Staging Area Company. He returned on August 27, 1945.
Devereaux was one of a handful of enlisted men who served with the 32nd Station Hospital the entire time it was overseas. After the 32nd Station Hospital arrived at the Boston Port of Embarkation on October 8, 1945, he was transferred to the Reception Center at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. At the time of his departure from the unit, his M.O.S. was 855 (dental technician). Technician 4th Grade Devereaux was honorably discharged at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, on October 17, 1945.
Devereaux’s daughter recalled:
After the war he returned to Madison, WI (where he was born) looking for work. He traveled to CA, but returned to WI pretty quickly and went to work for the State of WI as a plumbing apprentice. He worked at a state correctional facility in Chippewa Falls, WI and the Sparta, WI Child Care Center until 1959 when he started his own plumbing business with a partner called B&B Plumbing.
On May 15, 1950, Devereaux married Marjorie Alice Hoffman (1924–2002) in Sparta, Wisconsin. The couple raised a daughter and a son. Devereaux died suddenly in Sparta, aged 59.
William Elbert Dodd, 38022612 (November 16, 1918 – June 3, 1995)
Dodd was born in Reydon, Oklahoma. He was the son of George M. Dodd, Sr. (a farmer) and Bertha Dodd. Dodd was listed under the name Elbert Dodd on the 1920 and 1930 censuses. He was recorded on January 13, 1920, living with his parents and four older sisters in Bowman Township, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. Dodd was recorded there again on April 9, 1930, now with three more siblings (a younger sister and two younger brothers).
When he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, Dodd was living and working in Oklahoma City. The registrar described him as standing six feet tall and weighing 140 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes. His employer was listed as Armour and Company. Dodd’s enlistment data card stated his occupation was “Packing, filling, labeling, marking, bottling, and related occupations” and his education was grammar school.
Dodd was drafted before the U.S. entered World War II. He joined the U.S. Army on July 12, 1941, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Technician 4th Grade Dodd was transferred to the 32nd Station Hospital on October 19, 1942, per Special Order No. 282, Headquarters Medical Replacement Training Center, Camp Grant, Illinois. Dodd joined the unit at Camp Rucker, Alabama, shortly before the unit moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, on October 26, 1942. Technician 4th Grade Dodd moved with the unit to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and went overseas on January 14, 1943. He served with the unit during operations in Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1943.
On January 2, 1944, shortly after the 32nd Station Hospital moved to Italy, Dodd was promoted to staff sergeant. He continued to serve with the unit during operations in Caserta, Italy. His rank was reduced to private on May 30, 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from October 3–7, 1944. He was promoted back to staff sergeant on October 10, 1944, and then technical sergeant on November 14, 1944. He went to Rome again from January 7–11, 1945. Dodd appeared in a 1945 photograph of the 32nd Station Hospital Red Sox baseball team.
Technical Sergeant Dodd was one of a handful of enlisted men who served with the unit the entire time it was overseas. After the 32nd Station Hospital arrived at the Boston Port of Embarkation on October 8, 1945, he was transferred to the Reception Center at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. At the time of his departure from the unit, his M.O.S. was listed as 824 (mess sergeant).
Annotations to his draft card indicated that Dodd moved to California after the war. He had returned to Oklahoma by the time he married Danna C. McColgin (1929–?) in Reydon on February 28, 1948. A March 14, 1948, article in The Daily Oklahoman stated that they had settled in El Reno, Oklahoma, after honeymooning in Texas.
The Dodds raised two sons. Dodd died in Edmond, Oklahoma, aged 76. His obituary, printed in The Daily Oklahoman on June 5, 1995, stated that he was “employed by Holsum & Rainbow Bakeries for over 40 years, retiring as Sales Manager of Holsum in Arizona.”
Frank Domino, 36360718 (April 10, 1918 – September 24, 2004)
Domino was born in Louisiana. According to his draft card, Domino was born in Morgan City, while the Social Security Applications and Claims Index listed his place of birth as nearby Amelia. He was the son of David and Cora Domino, who had immigrated from Italy. Domino had at least three brothers and three sisters. The family was recorded (as Domina) on the 1920 census, living in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. (Amelia was listed on the sheet but was crossed out.) By 1930, the family had moved to Chicago, Illinois. By the time of the 1940 census, on April 16, 1940, he was working as an assembler at a radio factory.
Later that year, when Domino registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was working at the Brach’s Candy Company in Chicago. The registrar described him as standing approximately five feet, 10¾ inches tall and weighing 165 lbs., with brown hair and gray eyes.
After he was drafted, Domino was inducted into the U.S. Army on July 25, 1942, in Chicago. It appears that he went on active duty on August 7, 1942. Private Domino was transferred to the 32nd Station Hospital per Special Order No. 269, Headquarters, Medical Replacement Training Center, Camp Barkeley, Texas, on October 11, 1942. He joined the unit at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Not long after, while stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was promoted to private 1st class on December 3, 1942.
Private 1st Class Domino went overseas with the 32nd Station Hospital on January 14, 1943. He served with the unit during operations in Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1943, and in Caserta, Italy, during 1944 and 1945. He was promoted to corporal in Italy on April 13, 1944. On June 18, 1944, he went on temporary duty “with the 36th Gen Hosp to attend the Agripoli Rest Camp” for seven days. Corporal Domino went on a 10-day furlough beginning August 16, 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from December 2–6, 1944. He went again from December 30, 1944 – January 3, 1945. He began another furlough on June 4, 1945, returning on June 17, 1945.
Corporal Domino was one of a handful of enlisted men who served with the unit the entire time it was overseas. After the 32nd Station Hospital arrived at the Boston Port of Embarkation on October 8, 1945, he was transferred to the Reception Center at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. At the time of his departure from the unit, Corporal Domino’s M.O.S. was 409 (medical technician). According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File, he was discharged from the U.S. Army on October 17, 1945.
Domino appeared on a list of members of the unit compiled for the 1982 reunion; he was listed as being in contact with the rest of the unit and living in Norridge, Illinois, but did not attend the reunion. Domino’s obituary in the Chicago Tribune stated that he and his wife Rosalie raised two sons and a daughter. It also stated he was a “Forty year employee of Brach’s Candy Company.”
Delmont James Donahue, 36364410 (October 1, 1918 – December 20, 1981)
Donahue was born in Illinois, in Elgin (according to his draft card) or Huntley (according to his obituary…the two towns are only about 15 miles apart). He was the eldest son of Raymond Joseph (whose occupation was variously recorded as a farmer and milk salesman) and Marie Kelley Donahue. Donahue had eight brothers and two sisters. The Donahue family was recorded on the census on January 22, 1920, living in Rutland Township, Illinois, which includes part of both Elgin and Huntley. They were recorded again on April 9, 1930, living in Elgin.
Donahue graduated from Huntley High School. On April 4, 1940, the census recorded him living with his family in Rutland Township and working as an assistant postmaster. Later that year, when he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, Donahue was living in Huntley and working at both the post office there and for his father. The registrar described him as standing approximately five feet, eight inches tall and weighing 142 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes.
Donahue was drafted, and was inducted into the U.S. Army in Chicago, Illinois, on August 17, 1942. Private Donahue was assigned to 32nd Station Hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia, on November 30, 1942. His duty at the time was recorded as clerk/typist. On December 26, 1942, apparently because he was on pass when the unit was about to move from Fort Benning, Georgia, to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, he was transferred out of the unit per verbal order, commanding general, Headquarters Fort Benning. Perhaps because the unit remained at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, longer than originally anticipated, he was able to rejoin the unit there on January 11, 1943.
Private Donahue went overseas with the unit on January 14, 1943. During his service with the unit in Tlemcen, Algeria, he was promoted to private 1st class on April 9, 1943. Soon after, on May 28, 1943, he was promoted again to technician 5th grade.
He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from October 15–19, 1944. Technician 5th Grade Donahue was one of 16 men transferred to the 1st Replacement Depot on December 4, 1944. His M.O.S. was listed as 056 (postal clerk). According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs B.I.R.L.S. Death File, he was discharged from the U.S. Army on November 29, 1945.
After the war, Donahue graduated from Illinois State University. He was listed as a public school teacher on 1958–1960 Elgin city directories. According to his obituary, printed in the Marengo Beacon-News (Margengo, Illinois) on December 23, 1981, Donahue “was employed by the State of Illinois at Elgin State Hospital.”
Paul R. Dunbar, 34784771 (January 29, 1907 – August 19, 1968)
Dunbar was born in Wagoner, Oklahoma. He was the son of Curtis (a farmer) and Bessie Mae Dunbar. His middle name was listed as Ray on his draft card and marriage records, but as Raymond on his death certificate and headstone. Dunbar had at least four brothers and three sisters.
The Dunbar family moved several times before settling in Florida. The family was recorded on the census on April 21, 1910, living in Cobb Township in McIntosh County, Oklahoma. By the time of the next census on January 14, 1920, the Dunbar family had moved to Ozark Township in Polk County, Arkansas. As of April 15, 1930, the family was living in Faceville, Georgia, where Dunbar was working as a farmhand. During the next census on May 17, 1940, the family was living in Ocala, Florida, where Dunbar was working as a taxi driver. According to the 1940 census and his enlistment data, Dunbar completed 8th grade.
Dunbar married Bertha Alice Wilson in Gadsen County, Florida, on May 31, 1930. The couple subsequently divorced. He remarried in Marion County, Florida, to Lillie Mae Mixson on or about November 30, 1942. The couple divorced in 1950.
When he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, Dunbar was self-employed and living in Ocala, Florida. The registrar described him as standing approximate five feet, six inches tall and weighing 135 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes.
After he was drafted, Dunbar joined the U.S. Army at Camp Blanding, Florida, on May 14, 1943. Private Dunbar joined the 32nd Station Hospital in Caserta, Italy, on May 9, 1944, via the 7th Replacement Depot/Personnel Center 6. He was promoted to private 1st class on September 1, 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from October 15–19, 1944. He was promoted to technician 5th grade on July 3, 1945. His M.O.S. at the time was listed as 861 (surgical technician). He was transferred to the 7th Replacement Depot on September 14, 1945. An October 6, 1945, article in The Miami Herald announced his arrival in the United States the previous day aboard the Vulcania. Dunbar was honorably discharged on October 11, 1945.
Dunbar married Vera Faye Radford (1930–1995) in Bronson, Florida on February 9, 1952. The couple raised five sons. Technician 5th Grade Dunbar’s headstone lists the hospital as his unit.
Although he was deceased by that time, Dunbar’s name appeared on a list compiled for the 1982 reunion of those members of the unit who had lost contact with the rest of the unit due to outdated or inaccurate addresses.
Junior Harper Dyarman, 33241654 (March 12, 1922 – November 15, 2008)
Dyarman was born in Edenville, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Harper and Vera Louella Hill Dyarman. He had three sisters and six brothers. The census recorded on April 23, 1930, listed the family as living in Lower Frankford Township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Both father and son were recorded as Harper Dyarman. The next census, on May 15, 1940, recorded the family living in Lower Mifflin Township in Cumberland County. Curiously, he was listed as John H. Dyarman, Jr. (Since this is the only known record under that name, it’s possible the census enumerator was confused when he was referred to as Junior.) The census indicated that he completed the 6th grade and was working as a farmhand.
When he registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, Dyarman was working on his father’s farm in Newville, Pennsylvania. The registrar described him as standing approximately five feet, seven inches tall and weighing 135 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes.
Dyarman was drafted, and was inducted into the U.S. Army in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 1942. He went on active duty on October 16, 1942. Private Dyarman joined the 32nd Station Hospital on November 28, 1942, in Fort Benning, Georgia, after transferring from the Medical Replacement Training Center, Camp Barkeley, Texas. Dyarman went overseas with the unit on January 14, 1943. He served in the 32nd Station Hospital during operations in Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1943 and Caserta, Italy, in 1944. He went on temporary duty to the U.S. Army Rest Camp, Rome, from October 19–23, 1944.
Dyarman was one of 16 men transferred to the 1st Replacement Depot on December 4, 1944. In the transfer document, his M.O.S. was listed as 064. If correct, that would mean he was a power shovel operator. I suspect that it was a typo, because such an M.O.S. was not in the hospital’s table of organization and equipment. He remained in Italy and transferred to field duty.
A September 27, 1945, article in The Valley Times-Star (Newville, Pennsylvania) reported that Dyarman had been awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. His unit was listed as Company “G,” 86th Mountain Infantry, 10th Mountain Division. Dyarman arrived back in the United States on August 10, 1945, and was honorably discharged on September 19, 1945. By 1950, he was living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
His headstone stated that he reached the grade of private 1st class. His obituary, printed in The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) on November 17, 2008, stated that he “was a retired truck driver for the Hempt Brothers Quarry at Locust Point, and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II.”
Dyarman married E. Arlene Myers (1935–2011). Sadly, they outlived two children: John Harper Dyarman, died as an infant in 1956, and Linda H. Dyarman (later Palm, 1959–1992). Dyarman died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, aged 86.
More articles in the series Enlisted Men of the 32nd Station Hospital:
Last updated November 6, 2022
32nd Station Hospital 
Hi Lowell…This is truly amazing! You’re doing a phenomenal job! The detail that you’re finding is crazy great!! How are you and your family doing? Hopefully everyone is well!!! Status quo here. Take care! Be well! Joan 🙂
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
Thanks for this great article. These men were such great heroes and we don’t hear enough about what went on during their service.
LikeLike