Lionel Dyck, Jr. 103d Military Collection

Lionel Dyck Jr. was a soldier in the 103rd Cactus Division and served as a clerk in the 328th Medical Battalion. The 328th Medical Battalion participated in several World War II campaigns in the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. Lionel Dyck Jr. left with his division from New York harbor in October 1944, and eventually landed in Marseilles.

In November 1944, the battalion first encountered combat near Dijon, France along with Lieutenant General Patch’s Seventh Army. From there, the 103rd participated in the offensive northeast of the Moselle River, and then moved into the town of St. Die where they met heavy enemy resistance. According to his letter, Lionel Dyck, Jr. traveled to the front lines to visit combat soldiers at St. Die. After St. Die, the 103rd were tasked with taking Steige, where the division endured 10 days of combat. The men of the 103rd division then fought their way through the German defenses at the Vosges Mountains.

In December 1944, with the help of the 614th Tank Destroyers, the 103rd Infantry successfully captured the city of Climbach, severing an essential German supply line. On Christmas eve, 1944, the 328 Battalion received a letter of commendation for "its ceaseless devotion to duty and in caring for our men in their hour of need" from Major General Charles C. Haffner,Jr., Division Commander. The 103rd Infantry spent Christmas of 1944 engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of WWII, the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans launched a massive offensive near the Ardennes forest in an effort to thwart the allied advance into Germany. For Lionel Dyck and company this meant helping reinforce the seventh army’s flank at an area near the Metz. After helping hold this position the company moved to a military academy at Morhange. While at Morhange, Dyck visited the company at HosteBas close to the front and was subject to enemy air attacks. From there they were dispatched to Lorraine to stop the Germans from driving through the area. In December alone, the 103rd Infantry lost 244 men killed in action, 1048 were wounded and another 291 were missing in action.

Lionel Dyck was on a five-day leave when the 103rd Infantry was executing Operation Undertone in March of 1945. This was when the 103rd breached the defenses of the German Siegfried Line and advanced into Germany. In his letter, Lionel Dyck notes that the first time they saw Germany it was the Siegfried Line and surrounding towns on fire. Once in Germany, Lionel Dyck and company arrived in Wollemsheim where they took residence in a local house.

Lionel Dyck Jr. was awarded the Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, American Theatre Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.