|
Herbert Martin Siercks was born New Years Eve, December 31, 1916, in Arlington Nebraska. He was married to his wife of 44 years, Flo, on December 7, 1941 just before the announcement of Pearl Harbor. He served 16 years in the United States Army and went thru North Africa, the Kassarine Pass, Sicily and Italy. He was captured by the Germans in Northern Italy. After WWII he was stationed in Korea, then Japan during the occupation. He retired as a Major. Herbert Martin Siercks died on Easter Sunday, 1986. He left behind his wife, 2 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, 5 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren (including one namesake) and a great-great-grandson (who also carries his name). He was one of only a few Americans to earn the British Military Cross. |
|
A Daughter's Memory
My Father lost contact with the men of the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion when he was taken Prisoner of War in Italy. Throughout the next 34 years, during long hours of pain and sleeplessness, he often thought about the men and was determined to see them again.
He and my Mother spent an entire year making long distance calls from wartime news clippings of the Battalion which my Mother had put into a scrapbook. In one of those calls they located the Company Clerk of my Father's company who furnished them with a roster of the men just before their discharge. My Father didn't have a copy since his return to the States was from a prison camp.
The First Reunion of the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion was held in August l976 (Bicentennial Year) at Independence, Missouri. The turnout was tremendous! The reunion was very emotional. My sister and I attended along with my two sons, my Grandmother and my parents, Herbert and Flo Siercks. The wives of these terrific men seemed to bond immediately as they watched their husbands renew a comradeship that was cemented on the battlefields over 30 years ago.
The reunion was an unbelievable dream realized for my Father. He couldn't imagine later that it would continue in different states every two years for the next 22 years. My father died of cancer on Easter Sunday, l986. The most recent reunion was at Ft. Knox, KY, during which a memorial to the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion was dedicated at Patton Museum through the untiring efforts of Ellett Jackson, a former officer of the Battalion.
I have attended the reunions and met the men of the Battalion and their wives. They are unique. It has been a most rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Carol (Siercks) Nease
To report problems with this site contact: Webmaster
This website is designed and maintained by:
N Nease
Website Hosting provided by: I B Nease ~ USS Arizona Memorial Website