PFC Harry T. Dandorf
Today we honor and remember PFC Harry T. Dandorf of the 101st Airborne Division.
Private First Class (PFC) Harry T. Dandorf of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), was born in Guttenberg, Hudson County, New Jersey, to Alexander B. and Amelia (Elmer) Dandorf on September 19, 1919. He had five brothers, Alfred D., Daniel, Christian F., August L., and Louis P. Dandorf, and one sister, Helen (Dandorf) Poggio.
Three of his brothers also served during WWII. Like Harry, Christian and Alfred were also stationed in England, while his brother Daniel served in Africa. Harry had met with Alfred before he was sent off to Normandy on D-Day.
PFC Harry Dandorf enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Dix, Trenton, New Jersey, on February 5, 1942. He was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then to Fort Benning, Georgia, for paratrooper training. He would be assigned to Charlie Company, 502nd PIR.
At the time, 1SGT Jay B. Shenk was Harry’s Platoon Sergeant. After Harry’s untimely death, 1SGT Shenk wrote a letter to Harry’s girlfriend, Dorothy Herring, remembering their meeting in Fort Bragg’s PX.
1SGT Shenk was Harry’s jumpmaster on D-Day and he described their flight to Normandy as the best and nicest they ever had until they jumped and received a “warm greeting” by German machine gun fire.
Shenk wrote,
“On our descent, the bullets came so close to us that if I had wished to do so, I could have caught one in my hand by simply extending it to its full length […].”
PFC Harry Dandorf would die in battle near Carentan on June 11, 1944. As 1SGT Shenk wrote to Dorothy Herring,
“Our luck though as any gamblers was due for a change and it was on this day when we met our match and the same day late in the afternoon that the one you cared for so much went to the happy hunting grounds where I hope his soul rests in peace.”
On that day, LTC Robert Cole’s 3rd Battalion, 502nd PIR, made the famous bayonet charge at Ingouf Farm that would lead to Cole receiving his Medal of Honor.
In the afternoon, 1st Battalion was brought forward to defend 3rd Battalion’s crumbling defense line around Ingouf Farm. Charlie Company was sent to the left side of the 502nd positions, near the Carentan Causeway, to prevent a German breakthrough on that side, as that would mean the closing of a single escape route of the American paratroopers to their rear. It was during the ensuing battle that PFC Dandorf was killed.
Another Screaming Eagles had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
PFC Harry Dandorf died at an early age of 24. In 1948, he was reburied at Fairview Memorial Park and Mausoleum Cemetery in Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Harry.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
Sources
Family Search
The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, New Jersey; Friday, June 30, 1944 (Courtesy Judy Cahoon Egan)
The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, New Jersey; Friday, June 5, 1964 (Courtesy Judy Cahoon Egan)
Letter 1SGT Jay B. Shenk to Dorothy Herring (Courtesy Judy Cahoon Egan)
Marshall, S.L.A., Night Drop: The American Airborne Invasion of Normandy, 1962, Atlantic Little Brown.
Rendezvous With Destiny: A History of the 101st Airborne Division.
Happy Heavenly Birthday Harry 🫡🇺🇸🫡