Howard R. King
Howard R. King, Private, U.S. Army, 37530438, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. Entered the Service from Kansas. Died: June 18, 1944. Buried at: Plot G, Row 15, Grave 25, Normandy American Cemetery, St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France. Awards: Purple Heart. (ABMC, CCVM, DJHSP)
The Western Star, July 28, 1944 PVT. HOWARD KING MISSING IN ACTION
Mr. and Mrs. Charley King of Protection received word on Monday of this week that their son, Pvt. Howard Russell King, was missing in action in France. He was in the Normandy invasion as a member of the U. S. Infantry. He was reported missing in action on June 18. On June 13 he wrote his parents from France that he was O.K.
Howard was graduated from the Protection High School with the class of 1942 and entered the Army in June 1943. A sister Emma, lives at Protection and one brother, Leonard King is with the American soldiers fighting in Italy.
The Protection Post, July 28, 1944. One Missing, One Lost in France
Protection community received a double shock Monday morning with the arrival of two telegrams sent by the war department, one of them reporting the death of Pfc. Hugh Melrose, husband of Mrs. Ruth Melrose, and the other listing Pvt. Howard King, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. King, as missing in action, presumably in France.
Mrs. Melrose had been informed previously that her husband was missing on June 12th and Monday's telegram confirmed her fear that he had met death in the invasion.
Pfc. Hugh Melrose was born March 15, 1907 at Mancos, Colo. He enlisted in the United States army in March 1942. His training was received at Camp Barkley, Tex., and on maneuvers in Louisiana and the California Desert Training Center and he was sent overseas in March, 1944, for a period of intensive training in England.
Pfc. Melrose served as an advance scout. Last word received from him was written June 3.
He was united in marriage to Ruth La Barre on December 25, 1942. Twins, a boy and a girl, were born to them September 18, 1943. His last visit with his family was in February of this year just before going overseas. Mrs. Melrose is a daughter of L. C. Wymer.
Howard King left Protection to enter the service over a year ago and received his training at Fort McClellan, Ala. He was home on a furlough in December of last year. He went oversees in January of this year and received further training in England previous to the invasion. The last letter received by his parents was written June 13th. The telegram stated that he had been missing in action since June 18th.
His family and Protection friends continue to hope that a subsequent message announcing his safety may soon be received.
The Western Star, September 8, 1944 PVT. HOWARD KING A BATTLE CASUALTY.
Was Killed During The Invasion Of France.On July 24, Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. King of Protection received word that their son, Pvt. Howard R. King, had been missing in action since June 18 while taking part in the Normandy invasion of France.
In August 18, the parents received word from Major General J. A. Ulio that verification was made by the War Department that Howard had been killed in action on the day he was reported missing. Howard Russell King was born in Protection, Kans., September 12, 1924, and at the time of his death on June 18 was 19 years, 9 months and 6 days of age. He was reared in Protection and attended the Protection schools, working faithfully at the Bon Ton Bakery in Protection during his four years in high school.
Pvt. King was graduated from Protection High School in 1942. On July 3, 1943, he entered army service and took his basic training at Fort McCellan, Alabama. After a short time in Fort Geo. Mead, Maryland, he was transferred to camp Shank, New York, from which he was sent to England with his outfit in January 1944.
His intensive training with the infantry continued up to D-Day, at which time the infantry spearheaded the entrance into Europe, thus paving the way for the break through which is now spelling the doom of Hitler and his ruthless so called Supermen.
Howard died that his fellow Americans might live in a free country in peace and happiness.
He was an upright young man who took pride in being a good soldier.
Pvt. King is survived by his parents, one brother, Leonard King, with the Armed Forces in Italy, and by one sister, Miss Emma King, who is employed by the Protection Post as a linotype operator.
To the sorrowing relatives goes the sympathy of the people of the entire county.
"The 29th Infantry Division trained in Scotland and England for the crosschannel invasion, October 1942-June 1944. In May 1943 the division moved to the Devon-Cornwall peninsula and started conducting simulated attacks against fortified positions. Five stretches of French coastline in Normandy were selected as the sites for the landings that the allies intended as the primary effort to defeat Hitler on the western front. One of these, codenamed "Omaha," became the responsibility of the Regular Army's 1st Infantry Division and the 29th on the morning of 6 June 1944.
The 29th Infantry Division was the vanguard of the Allied attack on the hostile shores of Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The 29th Division was sorely disappointed every time the D-Day invasion was postponed and felt almost a sense of relief when they finally loaded the landing craft, even though the conditions were adverse. The attack to begin the liberation of France will long be remembered as the beginning of the Allies' "Great Crusade" to rekindle the lamp of freedom and liberty on the continent of Europe. Teamed with the 1st Division, a regiment of the 29th (116th Infantry) was in the first assault wave to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-day, 6 June 1944. Landing on Omaha Beach on the same day in the face of intense enemy fire, the Division soon secured the bluff tops and occupied Isigny, 9 June. The Division cut across the Elle River and advanced slowly toward St. Lo, fighting bitterly in the Normandy hedge rows."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/29id.htm
L. C. and Clara Wymer, parents of Sylvia Wymer, parents-in-law of Hugh Melrose.
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This page was last updated 28 October 2006.