Harry W. Dyke Verified listing

Pfc. Harry W. Dyke, 26, of Mansfield, Pennsylvania, was born on October 28, 1918, to Harry and Ella Dyke. He had two sisters and was married to Ruby Dyke.

Before entering military service, he worked for Johnson’s Truck Line in Mansfield. He deployed overseas in November 1944 and was wounded in Belgium later that month. He returned to active duty about one month before he was killed in action. Harry lost his life during the attack on a German stronghold near Bad Hönningen on 14 March 1945, only days after the Remagen Bridge crossing. Harry was only 26 years old and left behind his wife and two children.

He is interred at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Plot C, Row 4, Grave 3.

Location referenced:
Bad Hönningen, district of Neuwied, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, lies on the right bank of the Rhine, approximately 15 km (10 mi) northwest of Neuwied and 30 km (20 mi) southeast of Bonn. Arenfels Castle is located above Bad Hönningen.

Three letters Harry wrote before he was killed in action

To my daughter Jean,
Darling you are young an time erases memories. If you remember your
Daddy don't think to harshly of him. He may have been harsh and strict
at times but it as because he wanted you to do right.

We who are fighting this war know and appreciate the fact that we might not
come back to our families maybe, with our life blood we have contributed in our
small way to make this a better world for our loved ones to live in.

You are going to school now. Study hard Jean. Make the best of your life. Do not
make life any harder for your mother. She has enough on her mind. Love and help
Sonny he is your brother

To my loving wife and children,
If I come through this war alive you will never read this. I am putting it in
my pocketbook so if I am killed someone will send it on.

I want you to know my darling that the seven years that we have lived together were the
happiest I have ever know. I just hope and pray that I can come back to you
and Donny and Jean. Maybe at times I was not as good a husband and father that I could
have been but it was not because my love for you grew smaller. You were more then
a wife. You were a pal. You understood me and liked to do the things that I
liked to do. Do not grieve to deeply for me. You have our children.

They are a part of you and a part of me. They need you so do your very best
with them. The night that I left you to go back to camp I gave them into your
keeping I hold you to your promise to do your best. I think that you will have
enough to get along on. I just wish I could have provided more. Darling I want
to thank you for your love and understanding.

To my son Robert
Sorry you too are young. You will probably not remember me only as a picture. I am
proud of you. You are the only one to carry on the Dyke name. Don't do anything
that will do us shame. I am proud of our blood. To you lies the task of carrying
it on. I had great plans for us when this war was over but your mother will carry
on. Help her Son, she will need you more and more as you grow older.

Do not forget Son you are now the head of the house. I have prayed for you all son.
Just try and remember your Dad as a pal.

Carry on Son.

Your loving Dad