WW2 Hurtgen Forest Fallen - Taskel Evans, 9th Infantry Division + Hagar the Horrible

Tech Sergeant Taskel Evans was killed in action in the Hurtgen Forest
while serving with these men from the 47th Infantry Regiment.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=161597441&ref=acom
http://wwarii.com/blog/archives/a-dark-and-bloody-ground-the-hurtgen-forest-and-the-roer-river-dams-1944-45/

Taskel Harry Evans never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on August 11, 1917 in Alabama. His parents were both born in Tennessee. In 1920 Taskel was living with his widowed mother and older brother at his mom's parents home in Tennessee. 

His mom remarried in 1923 and had another boy and a girl. His stepfather worked as a retail merchant.

He enlisted in the army on March 10, 1939, listed under military intelligence. Prior to enlisting he had completed one year of high school. He eventually reached the rank of tech sergeant in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

The 9th Infantry Division first saw action in North Africa in 1942. It also took part in the invasion of Sicily. It was then moved to England to participate in the invasion of France. The 47th IR landed on Utah Beach on D+4. It helped capture Cherbourg by the end of June. By October, despite being understrength it was involved in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest where for weeks the unit endured repeated counter attacks and regular artillery and mortar fire. Sergeant Evans was killed on October 8, 1944.

His grave is at Somerset City Cemetery in Kentucky.

Thank you Taskel for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Taskel.

Hagar the Horrible Illustrator Dik Browne

Also born on August 11, 1917 was Richard Arthur "Dik" Browne in New York. He joined the army on August 27, 1937. He was in an engineering unit and used his drawing skills to draw Jinny Jeep, a comic about the WACs.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7950595

In the 1950s he created the comic strip Hi and Lois and in the 1970's he started drawing Hagar the Horrible. Both comics are still being drawn by family members. Browne died in 1989.

When we remember the fallen we should mourn the many talents that were lost when they never came home.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

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