Daniel F. Hawk

Rank: Private, U.S. Army

Serial: 42141831

Unit: 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division

Entered service from: New Jersey

Died: December 18, 1944, Belgium

Burial: Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium — Plot D, Row 1, Grave 50

Awards: Purple Heart

Private Daniel F. Hawk was the son of Emery and Emma Hawk of the Cramer Hill section of Camden, NJ. He was born in January of 1916, the youngest of 13 children. The family had lived on a farm at 768 East State Street since 1907, but moved shortly after Daniel’s birth, as the property had been acquired for use in the expanding Pavonia railroad switching yard. The 1930 Census shows the family at 2832 Harrison Avenue. His brother Amos Hawk was well known as a football player in Camden, playing at the guard position for the 1936 Class C Champion St. Joseph’s Polish Team, and for the Cramer Hill Wildcats, a local team.

By 1938 they had moved to 2904 Buren Avenue. Daniel Hawk was still living with his parents when the 1940 City Directory was compiled. The 1943 Camden City Directory shows Daniel and Hazel Hawk at 2871 Harrison Avenue. Before going into the Army Daniel Hawk had lived at 2804 Tyler Avenue in Camden, NJ, with his wife Hazel and their two children. An employee of the New York Shipbuilding Company in Camden, he had been inducted into the Army in May of 1944 and was sent overseas in November.

Private Hawk served at Fort Meade, MD before joining and going overseas with the 99th Infantry Division. Moving overseas on troop ships, the 99th arrived in England on October 10, 1944, moved to Le Havre, France on November 3, then proceeded to Aubel, Belgium to prepare for combat. Its soldiers first saw action on November 9, 1944, taking over the defense of the sector north of the Roer River between Schmidt and Monschau. After defensive patrolling, the thinly dispersed 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance while probing along their 22-mile sector, December 13.

Three days later, at the onset of what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, the 99th repelled the fierce Von Runstedt attack. Although cut in two and partially surrounded, the stubborn 99th soldiers defended the crucial Elsenborn Ridge on the north shoulder of the Bulge against repeated, violent German attacks. Daniel Hawk was reported missing in action on December 18, 1944. His body was later recovered and he rests at a United States Military Cemetery in Belgium.

Daniel Hawk was survived by his wife, two children, parents, and two brothers — Shipfitter Second Class Amos Hawk, who was serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Tuscaloosa, and William, who had been previously discharged from the Army. He also left five nephews and one niece serving in the armed forces: Private James Ulrich, USA; Carpenter’s Mate Second Class Frank Ulrich, USN; Gunner’s Mate Third Class Allen Hawk, USN; Seaman Recruit Henry Pierce, USN; Seaman Recruit Clarence Pierce, USN; and Private Rose Ulrich, WAC.