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| Pfc. Donald Chamberlain fought with the 4th Infantry Division from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159025274/donald-r-chamberlain http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/ernest-hemingway-and-the-ivy-leaguers-in-world-war-ii/ |
Donald R. Chamberlain never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 21, 1918 in New York. His parents Franklin and Ada were both born in Pennsylvania. His father worked as a handle factory manager and later as a acid plant laborer. Donald had two older sisters, three older brothers (two became WW2 army vets), one younger sister, and one younger brother (a WW2 navy vet). By 1940 Donald had completed four years of high school. He was still living at home and worked in the grocery business with one of his older brothers.
He was drafted into the army on March 3, 1941. He became a private first class in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
The 4th ID arrived in England in January 1944. It landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Pfc. Chamberlain was wounded four days later. He rejoined his unit on August 10. After taking heavy casualties in the Hurtgen Forest, the 4th ID was sent to the low action Ardennes Forest only to be involved in the thick of the Battle of the Bulge. Pfc. Chamberlain survived these two horrendous battles until the Americans were on the offensive in January 1945. Pfc. Chamberlain was wounded on January 7, 1945 and died later that day.
His grave is at Riverview Cemetery in Hancock, New York
Last year on this date I profiled PBY-5 officer John O'Leary. You can read about John here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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