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| Sgt. Hank Nowak, 87th Infantry Division and fighter pilot William Dyess. http://www.baseballsgreatestsacrifice.com/biographies/nowak_hank.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Dyess |
Henry S. "Hank" Nowak never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 9, 1918 in New York. His parents Martin and Victoria were born in New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. All four grandparents were from Poland. His father worked as a railroad car inspector. Census records suggest he passed away in the 1930s, but other records suggest he died in 1948. Henry had an older brother, older sister, and younger sister. By 1940 Henry had completed two years of high school and was employed as a baseball pitcher.
Hank signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937 and was put to work on minor league teams. By 1941 many thought Hank's skills had reached the point he would join the Cardinals, but the team was flush with great pitchers that year so he stayed in the minor leagues. He was called to spring training in 1942, but he was drafted into the army on March 2, 1942 so his chance for a Major League Baseball career was lost.
Hank pitched for army teams for the next three years. In October 1944 he was sent to England as a sergeant in Company B, 1st Battalion, 345th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division. Sgt. Novak's unit was sent to the front to repel the German attack in the Battle of the Bulge.
Sgt. Nowak was fighting the enemy a few miles west of Bastogne, near the village of Meircy when he was killed in action on January 1, 1945.
His grave is at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery in Cheektowaga, New York
WILLIAM E DYESS
William E. Dyess was born on August 9, two years earlier than Henry Nowak. His story is worth sharing here.
Dyess was born and raised in Texas. After completing ag college in 1936 he joined the Army Air Corps and was trained to be a fighter pilot in 1937. His squadron on P-40 Warkhawks was transferred to the Philippines in November 1941. After the Japanese destroyed all of the American planes, Dyess transferred to the infantry and fought on the Bataan Peninsula. After the Americans surrendered, he suffered through the Bataan Death March.
Dyess was transferred to a work camp in the Southern Philippines. Because of its remote location, the Japanese did not think anyone could escape. Dyess and nine others proved them wrong when they successfully escaped. Dyess was evacuated by submarine and made it back to Washington DC where his report of Japanese brutality was kept secret -- the government was concerned that the Japanese would killed POWs if the facts were made public.
Dyess requested that he be allowed to return to combat. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel to lead a P-38 squadron. On December 22, 1943, Col. Dyess took off in a P-38 from a California airfield. One of the engines caught on fire. Col. Dyess had the option to bail out, but he was flying over a populated area, so he stayed with the plane to make sure it came down in a vacant lot. He did not survive the crash landing.
Dyess was a highly decorated airman. He was award the Distinguished Service Cross twice, the Distinguished Flying Cross twice, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star.
After his death, the government finally approved the publication of his story and it became a best seller (The Dyess Story) and educated the American public as to the inhumane treatment of prisoners by the Japanese.
Last year on this date I profiled Lawrence Duncan, 4th Infantry Division. You can read about Lawrence 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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