Hupert H. Dawdy
Biography: Hupert Henry Dawdy was born on October 19, 1925, in Corry, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Harvey Harris Dawdy and Sybil Gregory and received a grammar school education before becoming a laborer and a truck driver.
Service Time: Hupert entered the service and was assigned to the 663rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, which was eventually deactivated on March 25, 1944, at Camp Bowie, Texas. On that same day, they were redesignated as the 426th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. The 426th utilized the M7 Priest, officially known as the 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7, which was a self-propelled field artillery vehicle. As a field artillery unit, the 426th was used in a similar fashion to many of the tank destroyer units by providing indirect fire. Hupert remained in the unit, serving in Battery B. During his initial training, he received recognition as a Sharpshooter with a Carbine.
Stanton’s Order of Battle book identifies that the 426th left San Francisco on February 1, 1945, landing in Hawaii on Feb. 9. They then landed in the Philippines on Jul. 16 and as of August, 1945, they were on Leyte in the Philippines. The unit returned home to Los Angeles on Jan 7, 1946 but Hupert was discharged while still in the Philippines. He re-enlisted in the Regular Army as an MP (Military Police) until the end of 1946.
The main photo looks like a posed shot sometime after the war and possibly after his re-enlistment. He is wearing his service ribbons and he is now at the rank of Technician 4th Grade. The photo above left looks like an early one, possibly before shipping out from the U.S. The image above right seems to be after his original WWII service since he has his service ribbons but at this point, he is still a Private. The final photo was probably taken during his time in the Philippines.
When he returned to the U.S. for good, he found work at Con Edison in New York. On August 24, 1946, he married the former Eunice Claire West. The couple had three children, Daniel born in 1947, Winifred in 1949, and Timothy in 1951. He was later self-employed doing home remodeling.
Hupert passed away on January 15, 2006, and was buried in the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery in Wrightstown, NJ. I want to thank Hupert’s son, Dan, for his assistance and providing the materials for this tribute.