World War II Honoree

David Hunter Payne, Jr.

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Paw Creek, North Carolina

Honored By

Friend of Family

Served from March 26, 1943 to January 21, 1946 in General George S. Patton's 7th Army. Served in North Africa, Allied invasion of Sicily, conquests of Palermo and Messina, invasion of France by its Mediterranean coast then drove a retreating German army north and then west toward the Alsace. In January 1945 the 7th Army repelled a fierce but brief enemy counter-offensive during the German Operation Nordwind. In a lead role in Operation Undertone, the 7th Army on March 15, 1945, fought its way across the Rhine into Germany, capturing Nuremberg and then Munich.