Profound grief and sadness entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Damitz on the morning of November 24th, 1944. The US War Department had regretfully informed them that their only son, Dale, had been killed on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. He was only 24 years old.

His parents had last received a letter dated October 6th, 1944 which said that the Rapids soldiers had landed in the Netherlands East Indies. From there Sergeant Damitz had moved with American armed forces to the Philippines where he was killed in action on October 20th, 1944.

Dale F. Damitz was born April 19th, 1920. He attended Lowell School, East Side Lutheran Grade School and then graduated from Lincoln High School. After graduation he worked at the Wisconsin Rapids Water Works and Lighting Commission.

Dale Damitz entered the armed forces on June 19th of 1942. He spent a week at Fort Sheridan and then was shipped overseas to Australia, arriving around the first of August. Sergeant Damitz stayed in Australia for a few months, and then was moved to New Guinea, where he took part in a long and costly campaign. He returned to Australia for a few months in 1943, and after that he went back to New Guinea where he remained until he was transferred to the Netherlands East Indies in the fall of 1944. He was a member of the military police.

His parents were residing at 1150 Eighth Street South when the horrible news reached their home. Sergeant Damitz was buried in Tacloban, the largest city in the Philippines and also the capital city of the Leyte province.

Written By:
RaeAnn Cooks
East Junior High School