Warren L. Beach

Biography:  Warren Beach was born in Tremont, PA on June 5, 1922.  He was the son of Fred Beach and his wife, Stella Bonawitz Beach.  He attended the Branch Twp. school in Llewellyn, PA and would go on to work as a truck driver and drag-line shovel operator.

Service Time:  Warren would enter the service on Dec. 30, 1942 at Allentown, PA and be assigned to the 819th Tank Destroyer Battalion in their Headquarters Company.  He would accompany them during training at Fort Hood, Camp Ibis (Desert Training Center) and Camp Bowie.  Warren's talents would soon be utilized as a radio operator, the Captain's truck driver the company bugler. Other members of the unit would recall Warren and the many funerals he would attend and play Taps. 

Warren related to me that while his unit was stationed on Peleliu, most of what they did was clean-up of the caves that were on the island.  At one point, all their TD's and the unit's other vehicles were cosmolined and readied for shipment, while a Captain from their unit was shipped to the Philippines.  Upon his return, the unit was slated for the invasion of Kyushu as a diversionary force with the 111th Inf. Div.  They were only given rations for 10 days while the main forces would hit Honshu in November.  Warren said he thanked God that Harry (Truman) had the gonads to drop the big one.

Warren was called back to service during the Korean conflict and spent about 6 months at Fort Campbell, KY.  During his time in the service, he reached the rank of Technician 4th Grade.

When Warren returned from WWII, he went back to doing what he knew and that was working as a drag-line shovel operator.  He also spent time as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic, a District Service Manager and an Equipment Salesman.  On Mar. 30, 1946, he would marry the former Doris R. Rodgers.  She was the daughter of John Rodgers and Grace D. Kuehn from Minersville, PA.  Together they would have five children, two daughters Cheryl and Cathy and three sons Lynn, Scott and Jeffrey.  The family would end up living in the Warminster area of PA.

In his spare time, Warren enjoyed hunting and fishing and told me that he was very familiar with my home of Lancaster County, PA.  He had hunted pheasants there for several years while he had lived in the Centerville, PA area.  He lived there for two years before being transferred to the Philadelphia office of his company.  Warren is a member of the Masons and the VFW. 

One of the saddest things he told me was that of the 800 plus members of the 819th, he believes there are only 53 left.  It is truly sad to see these heroes pass but I am truly glad to have been able to speak with a few of them, including Warren.  A special thanks to Warren for taken the time to speak with me and write to me providing the above listed information.