World War II Honoree

David T. Hines

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

San Jose, California

Honored By

Joan Nyman Pearson

Relationship

Cousin

Soon after Pearl Harbor, he left San Jose State University and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He trained in Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to Company E of the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and WAS shipped to Europe. On May 31, 1944, his two week troopship ride across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean, on a former Grace Luxury Liner, ended in Italy at the Bay of Naples. On June 18, 1944, following a troop movement to the north on LST'S, HE ENGAGED THE GERMAN INFANTRY IN HIS FIRST BATTLE OF THE WAR. HE then regrouped near Rome to prepare for the European Front. On August 15, 1944, A C-47 flew HIM from Italy to a drop zone in Southern France, where HIS ACTUAL assignment began. The mission of the Combat Team was to sieze and organize positions in order to prevent the enemy from bringing in reinforcements against Allied beachhead forces who were working inland from the coast of Normandy. During the Battle of the Bulge, he became a Prisoner of War. He escaped from prison and was housed for a time by a friendly Belgium family. While attempting to rejoin his unit, he was killed on January 21, 1945. He is buried in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium, AND WAS Awarded The Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.