Today in Ohio WWII history: Clarksburg's Sgt Carl Dinkler moves closer to Brest, Norman Trapp prepares to lead B-17 crew

Today in Clarksburg Ohio World War II history:

August 8, 1942: Corporal Forrest Hicks is based in Panama defending the canal zone and eastern seaboard attached to the 1st Coastal Artillery, Battery K at Fort Sherman.

August 8, 1944: SGT Carl Dinkler, A Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry is attached to the 6th Armored Division to pressure Germans in the Brittany Peninsula and cut off the port city of Brest. The group meets at the village of Landivisiau in preparation for scouting the German defense in the area. Captain Norman Trapp departs the U.S. bound for England to serve as a command pilot of a B-17 Bomber crew with the 351st Bomb Group, 508th Bomb Squadron.

August 8, 1945: PFC Almer Sowers (pictured during the war and in 1984 on his farm outside Clarksburg Ohio) returns to the U.S. from the Philippines and is interned in a hospital in Kentucky, following his service as a light truck driver in the Pacific. Corporal Warren Martin departs Antwerp, Belgium on the U.S.S. Howard A. Kelly liberty ship bound for New York.

August 8, 1946: SSGT John Roseboom is discharged from the U.S. Army following honorable service in the 1st Cavalry Division’s 760th Field Artillery Battalion.

Clarksburg Ohio World War II history March 20 1943-1945

Today in Ohio World War II history featuring soldiers from Clarksburg, Ohio:

March 20, 1943: Harry Junk arrives safely in North Africa. Picture included in this blog is Harry Junk on the left and unknown soldier on the right in North Africa.

March 20, 1944: Jack Ater returns to Fort Leonard Wood following an 11-day furlough in Clarksburg with his parents. Joe Ater transfers from San Antonio, Texas where he completed pre-flight training and is now participating in flight training in Tulsa, OK. Tom Eycke is currently based in New Guinea and searching jungles for Japanese ammo and supply dumps, determining what supplies are salvagable.

March 20, 1945: Fred Rittenhouse's entire 777th Tank Battalion takes over the Hotel Ludwig Porch in Wassenach in preparation for the crossing of the Rhine River. John Roseboom is serving with the 760th Field Artillery Battalion in Manila, Philippines.