Normandy vet found

[RabidAlien]

I'm speechless. Seriously. Massive kudos to the two teens, but who the FRIKKIN HECK could be cold and callous enough to just toss someone in a heap behind a building? Some basic respect for a fellow human being would be in order, no matter what their past might've been.

Ashes Found in Trash Led to Proper Burial

 

[evangilder]

Shameful for anyone to be treated that way. A man with 5(!) bronze stars and 2 purple hearts was clearly one of the heroes of the greatest generations. Thankfully, the teens got him the proper burial he deserved.

 

[timshatz]

Good job by those kids.

Anybody know anything about this Delbert Hahn? Any records on this guy out there?

 

[Gnomey]

Great job by the kids, disgraceful that he (and his wife and her mother) were treated like that.

 

[RabidAlien]

Good job by those kids.

Anybody know anything about this Delbert Hahn? Any records on this guy out there?

I'm at work, so I haven't had a chance to search/research any of this, but considering the source I would tend to believe the story is true. Would love to find out more about the man, though. If its slow this afternoon, I'll browse some...

darn the seduction of Google anyway! Quick browse found some doctor by that name, and this site: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSlh=1&GRid=45570707

 

[evangilder]

I found this in another article:
His military career began in August 1942, when, military records show, the 21-year-old farmer from New Albin, Iowa, enlisted. He became a rifleman in the 3rd Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division and was in Europe from March 1944 to October 1945.
Hahn was at the Normandy invasion and campaigns in northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, records show, and he earned his Bronze Star for heroic achievement in the battles near Caumont on June 28, 1944.
In that campaign, the village was captured by U.S. troops July 1, 1944, less than a month after D-Day. The town was used as a starting point for Operation Bluecoat, which sought to push the occupying German army south toward Vire. The objective was to attract a counterattack, which would weaken the German line. The operation was a success, records show. It was during this engagement that Hahn earned his Bronze Star. Specifics about his actions were unavailable.
He was wounded in September 1944 and again in April 1945, records show.
He was discharged in October 1945, but re-enlisted four years later and restarted a military career that lasted until 1967. During that time, he served in Japan, Korea and again in Germany.

 

[RabidAlien]

Doesn't seem like there's a lot of info about the man on sites that don't charge membership fees. No kids, no relatives, no family....he doesn't deserve to be forgotten like this! Anyone have a friend or contact at the VA, or some other way of finding his service records?

 

[timshatz]

Thanks for the info Evan. Know more about him than I did.

No family. No nothing. Guess he and his wife didn't have any kids.

 

[timshatz]

Doesn't seem like there's a lot of info about the man on sites that don't charge membership fees. No kids, no relatives, no family....he doesn't deserve to be forgotten like this! Anyone have a friend or contact at the VA, or some other way of finding his service records?

Since he is dead, his records can be accessed by the general public. But you'd need to know more info about him (service #, ect).

 

[Messy1]

Definitely was a class act on the part of the 2 young people. They should be congratulated. So sad this man and his family were disposed of like this. But at least the story has a happier ending, and Mr. Hahn received the honorable burial he so rightly deserved.

 

[diddyriddick]

A very touching story. Thanks for sharing it, RA.

 

[Messy1]

Wouldn't/Isn't there a law against throwing out humans remains like that, or at the very least for discarding the rest of the items behind a garage like that? I would hope the bak or whomever could take some action against those who cleared out the house. What kind of a person could just toss everything behind a garage like that, especially the 3 urns?

 

[Catch22]

I wonder as well who the workers are. You'd think they wouldn't throw out the urns. Perhaps if they are from a foreign country and can't read English well, they may not really have known what the military records were, but I don't think anyone wouldn't know what the urns were...

 

[Njaco]

At the very least, those workers should be charged with littering. This turns my stomache that someone so valuable could be treated so poorly.