PFC Leslie D. Dickerson
Source: Find a Grave, c/o Russ Pickett.
Private First Class (PFC) Leslie DuMont Dickerson, Jr. of HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 401st Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, to Leslie DuMont and Elvera V. (Krastel) Dickerson on October 21, 1921. Donald had one younger brother, Robert F., and one older sister, Jean D. Dickerson. His brother, Robert, served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.
Somewhere in the 1920s, the family moved to Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Leslie graduated from Pierre S. DuPont High School in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. He later attended Glassboro State Normal School and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Leslie married Mabel Anne Dunham in Wilmington on July 3, 1942. Their marriage was blessed with one daughter, Constance Lee Dickerson, who was born on February 26, 1943.
Leslie registered for the draft in Wilmington on February 16, 1942. At the time, he was employed by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Chester, Pennsylvania, which had a large shipyard on the Delaware River. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camden, New Jersey, on November 19, 1942.
PVT Dickerson trained with the Army’s armored forces at Camp Polk, Louisiana, and Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was later selected for aviation training at Montana State University. When that training program was cancelled, Leslie volunteered to be a paratrooper and attended jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia, but was eventually assigned to a glider unit: the Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 401st GIR.
On January 14, at 08.00 hrs., during the final days of the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans made a strong attack against the sector held by the glidermen. While the attack was repulsed, enemy small-arms fire and supporting fire continued through most of the day, causing numerous casualties by the end of the day. Among them was PFC Dickerson, who was killed in action that day.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
Source: Find a Grave, c/o A Horan.
PFC Leslie Dickerson died at age 23. He was laid to rest at section 34, grave 3713, of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Leslie.
Lest we forget! 🇺🇸
Sources:
Family Search
Rendezvous with Destiny by Leonard Rapport & Arthur Norwood, Jr.
Sky Riders: The History of the 327th and 401st Glider Infantry