Winston Churchill once said of World War Two that it was not a war of princes or chieftains, but of peoples and causes; a war fought by unknown heroes. Here we acknowledge the unknown heroes that Churchill was referring to as well; our fallen heroes as well as those that fought for our freedoms and returned with their memories. We remember and honour in our hearts the Allied heroes, war veterans and all the affected people, who valued freedom in their life above all else.

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    XYZ

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Roy Edward Hanf

PFC, 37628607 While on a mission with his unit to secure the enemy from a wooded area, Private First Class Hanf was killed by shell fragments from enemy mortar and small arms fire. This occurred on 12 Oct. 1944, Foret de Parroy, near Luneville, France. Hanf is buried at Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France, Plot B, Row 18, Grave 37. Roy Hanf was a member of the 3rd Platoon, Co. G, 315th Inf., 79th Div. Additional information provided by Fannin Vet Carl A. Settle: Roy Hanf was 37 years old when he was killed. He had worked more than 20 years for International Shoe Company in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at the time of his induction. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and the Walther League.

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Henry Glendon Hays

S Sgt AC AUS
2526th AAF BU
Purple Heart, Victory Medal, Air Crew Member Badge, Air Offensive Europe Campaign, American Theater Service Medal, European-African-Middle Easter Service Medal with 1 Bronze Battle Star, Distinguished Unit Badge
Date of enlistment: Dec 8 1942 Dallas, Texas
Date of Separation: Oct 31 1945 Sheppard Field Texas
Airplane mechanic, Gunner 748 AAF
Wounds received in action over enemy occupied Europe, Jan 11 1944.

Last Mission of Hallden Crew - #98 11 Jan 1944
Over 300 German fighters attacked the formations after our fighter support returned to England and a mission recall signal was issued. 1st Air Division Air Commander, B/Gen Robert F. Travis claimed he never received the recall order and continued on to the target. The 303rd BG(H) lost 11 crews of which 46 of the 110 crewmen were KIA. The First Air Division lost 42 B-17s and 2 fighters. The recalled 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions lost an additional 16 B-17s and 2 B-24s. The 303rd claimed 30 German fighters destroyed, 4 probables and 9 damaged. The Hallden Crew's B-17 was seen to be in distress at 19,000 feet. Was on fire and went out of formation into a spin. The tail section came off. The B-17 crashed near Kirchlengern, Germany. Two crewmen were KIA and eight became POWs.

View SSgt Hay's Scrapbook

Submitted by daughter, Becky (Hays) Martin

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James P. Hennessey

Private First Class, US Army
Company E, 345th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division
Purple Heart

Jim was born November 24, 1925 in Bayonne, NJ. His father died in 1930, leaving his mother to raise him, his three brothers, and six sisters. He attended local schools, received his high school diploma, and entered the Army in March 1944. He had IRTC (Infantry Replacement Training Center) training at Camp Croft in Spartanburg, SC, then proceeded to Ft. Jackson where he was assigned to the 87th. The 87th passed through his hometown when they were shipping out via Camp Kilmer. On Feb 26, 1945, Jim was wounded near Neuenstein, Germany. He was sent to a hospital in Paris, but says:

"It was rough on a 19 year old who didn't smoke or drink and not too fond of chocolate ... don't know how I was able to recuperate."

Jim was discharged from the Army on December 15, 1945 at Camp Upton, Patchogue, Long Island. He married his wife, the former Dolly Tagliareni, in 1949. They have two sons, and two grandsons. He retired in 1982 after working for 35 years as a mailman for the Bayonne Post Office.

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Allan W. Howerton

Sgt, US Army
84th Division

Allan Wilford Howerton, a native of western Kentucky, served in the U.S. Army for three years, February 1943—January 1946. After induction at Fort Dix, New Jersey, his basic training was as a medic at Camp Pickett Virginia. He was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and studied at Drexel University in Philadelphia. When the ASTP program was discontinued he was assigned to the 84th Infantry Division—Company K, 335th Infantry.

He fought with the 84th Division from November 1944 to the end of the war in May 1945 as a rifleman, messenger, and communications sergeant. Sergeant Howerton was one of eighteen men who participated continuously in all the company's combat operations without being wounded or otherwise medically evacuated. He received service ribbons for the Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central European campaigns, the Presidential Unit Citation for the company's performance in the Battle of Lindern in Germany, the French Croix de Guerre unit citation which was awarded to the 3rd Battalion, 335th Infantry for counter-reconnaissance operations during the Battle of the Bulge, and a Certificate of Merit for his work as a company communications sergeant.

The full story is told in his memoir, "Dear Captain, et al.: the Agonies and the Ecstasies of War and Memory, a Memoir from World War II" (Xlibris, 2000). ~ Submitted by Allan W. Howerton