James was a member of L Company 116th Infantry and first enlisted in 1938. Mobilized with the unit on 3 Feb 1941, he trained with the unit at Fort Meade, Maryland, in the Carolina Maneuvers and at Camp Blanding, Florida as well as in England in preparation for the amphibious landing at Omaha Beach on the French coast. He was a part of team 3 which came into the extreme left of the beach with team 7 and worked its way in through the obstacles and right into the beach. The boat drew fire as soon as the ramp was dropped. SSG James K. Desper was hit and killed, the men saw him pitch forward and go under the ramp.
SSG Desper is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery.
No comments:
Post a Comment