PLYMOUTH COUNTYANS COMMISSIONED SECOND LIEUTENANTS
Lieut. Charles R. Clark, LeMars (Moore Field, Texas)
Lieut. Wayne Dack, LeMars (Marfa Field, Texas)
Lieut. Elvit W. Falk, LeMars (Altus Field, Oklahoma)
Lieut. Laverne H. Klemme, Akron (Pampa Field, Pampa, Texas)
Lieut. Harley J. Rollinger, LeMars (Moore Field, Texas)
Lieut. La Verne C. Varenhorst, LeMars (Lubbock Field, Texas)
Source: LeMars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, March 24, 1944 (Six servicemen photos included)
SOLDIER NEWS
Lt. Wayne Dack is in Italy, serving as co-pilot on a B-24. He arrived there about July 20.
Source: LeMars Globe-Post, August 10, 1944
NORMANDY INVASION WAS HIGH POINT IN WAYNE DACK’S LIFE
15TH AAF in Italy—As a co-pilot on a B-24 Liberator, 1st Lt. Wayne E. Dack, of LeMars, has had many a thrilling moment in 33 combat missions over enemy territory. But he has yet to surpass his feelings on the day he flew over the beaches in Southern France on invasion day.
“It was the sort of thing that you get to see only once in a lifetime,” he said.
“There, right under my eyes, our fighting men poured on to the beaches, carrying with them the hopes, the dreams, and the future happiness of millions of people all over the world. For a stretch of 150 miles all I could see was a panorama of allied might: battleships, cruisers, supply ships, troop carriers, and landing barges. It looked like the most irresistible force in the world. I almost felt sorry for the poor Germans who would have to try and stop all that power.
Not only was the water filled with our might, but the air was filled with planes, thousands of them, all going about the business at hand. Above us was an umbrella of fighter planes, hovering over us like a mother hen with a brood of chicks. It was the greatest show I ever hope to see.”
Lieut. Dack is a member of a veteran bombardment group which was recently cited by the War Department for “outstanding performance of duty in armed conflict with the enemy.”
He has been overseas since July of 1944, and has participated in attacks on such important targets as Ploesti, Vienna, Munich, Bleckhammer, Budapest, and Bucharest. He is the holder of the air medal, with two oak leaf clusters for “meritorious achievement in aerial flight.”
He was graduated from LeMars high school in 1940, and attended the University of Iowa for two years prior to entering the service.
His parents reside at 315 Third Street, LeMars. His wife, Mrs. Evelyn Dack, lived at 353 West 69th Street, Los Angeles, Calif.
Source: LeMars Globe-Post, January 8, 1945
MORE PICTURES OF PLYMOUTH COUNTYANS IN UNIFORMED SERVICES
Source: The LeMars Globe-Post, January 29, 1945 (photograph only)
SOLDIER’S NEWS.
Lieut. Wayne Dack, having completed his bombing missions in the European area, is home on furlough which he is spending with his wife, the former Miss Evelyn Truesdell, and father, W. J. Dack.
Source: LeMars Globe-Post, February 12, 1945
LT. WAYNE E. DACK RETURNS HOME FROM OVERSEAS MISSIONS
Lt. Wayne E. Dack, Army Air Corps, arrived on February 7, at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, after seven months overseas duty in the European theater of operations. He arrived in LeMars Friday afternoon for a visit with his wife, who recently arrived from California, and with his father, William Dack, residing at 315 Third Street SW.
Lt. Dack is a co-pilot on a B-24 Liberator and has completed thirty-three missions over enemy territory.
Lt. Dack will report for further duty on March 6, at Miami Beach, Florida.
Source: LeMars Sentinel, February 13, 1945
Lt. Dack, Pilot of LeMars, Flies 35th Mission in Europe
Fifteenth A. A. F. in Italy.—Second Lt. Wayne E. Dack, 22, LeMars, Ia., pilot of a B-24 Liberator in the 15th air force in Italy, recently flew his 35th mission.
Since arriving overseas last July, he has participated in numerous bombing attacks on aircraft factories and oil refineries in Vienna and German industrial installation at Blechhammer and Munich. Other targets he has attacked were airfields and railroad yards in northern Italy and southern Austria.
He holds the air medal with three oak leaf clusters for “meritorious achievement during aerial flights over enemy territory.” He is authorized to wear the distinguished unit badge as a member of a heavy bombardment group which has been cited by the War Department for “outstanding performance of duty in armed conflict with the enemy.”
“Things get mighty rough out there at times,” said Lt. Dack, “but as long as the ship stays in one piece, we can always count on her taking us on a round trip.”
Source: The Sioux City Journal, February 20, 1945
***Further Research:
Wayne Edward Dack was born June 18, 1922 to William Joseph and Mary Mulder Dack. He died Dec. 30, 2020 and is buried in Memorial Cemetery, LeMars, IA.
Source: ancestry.com
