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| TEC4 Darrell Frye served with the 7th Armored Division |
Darrell was born on March 5, 1920 in Franklin Township, Iowa. His parents Henry and Mabel were also born in Iowa. His father was a farmer. At some point prior to 1930, the family relocated to Hayward, Wisconsin. Darrell had two older sisters, one older brother, one younger sister, and four younger brothers. By 1940, Darrell had completed 8th grade and was living at home with his parents and working as a truck driver.
Darrell was drafted into the US Army in February 1942 and served in the Company C, 40th Tank Battalion, 40th Armored Regiment of the 7th Armored Division as a M4 Sherman medium tank driver. The 7th Armored Division landed on Omaha and Utah Beaches, 13–14 August 1944, and was assigned to the US Third Army, commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. The 40th Tank Battalion entered combat on 15 August 1944 fighting across northern France into Belgium.
In September 1944, the Allies launched Operation Market Garden, a major offensive from the Dutch-Belgian border across the south of the Netherlands, with the goal of bypassing the Siegfried Line in preparation for the final drive toward Berlin. During the initial phase of the operation, Allied forces made two divergent pushes into enemy territory, which left a significant German salient that threatened the flanks of both Allied forces. At this time, the 7th AD was heavily engaged in combat just south of Metz, France, suffering heavy losses, but was called upon to rush into position to protect the right flank of the Market Garden corridor.
On 30 September, the 7th Armored Division attacked the Dutch town of Overloon, against significant German defenses, across terrain that they had not even seen until a few short hours before the attack. The open fields and soggy marshy terrain, with occasional dense woods, kept tanks on the roads and made them easy targets. They did manage to drive the Germans south a few miles to the very outskirts of Overloon, but there the battle became a stalemate, with attacks and counter-attacks that failed to change the front lines. TEC4 Frye was killed in action on 2 October 1944 during the attack on Overloon, one of 131 7th Armored soldiers killed during the battle.
Darrell Eugene Frye is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Hayward, Wisconsin.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Normandy fallen Robert Cornelius of the 9th Infantry Division. You can read about Robert 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!
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