Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Leo A. Dare, who served during World War II as part of the 347th Combat Engineers.
The Army drafted Leo Dare in 1942. He went to England in 1944 in preparation for D-Day. While in England, he spent four weeks sequestered from the civilian population so that no news of the invasion would get out. During this time, Dare and his fellow soldiers entertained themselves by playing games such as football, baseball, and other athletic competitions. They also practiced many dry runs of the invasion. On the day they were set to invade, Dare thought it would just be another dry run. Dare landed on Normandy Beach on D-Day plus eight hours.
As an engineer, Dare built bridges, laid mines, and cleared minefields. He worked construction before the war with his father, so he already had the needed experience. In November 1944, Dare’s unit went to the north of France to build a bridge to cross the Moselle River. The bridge was booby trapped and Dare suffered injuries during the explosion. He recovered and returned to his regiment.
During the Battle of the Bulge, Dare’s unit served as infantry. Later, when Dare’s unit and the rest of Patton’s 3rd Army reached the Rhine River, Dare helped build a 3,000-footbridge so that the soldiers could cross to the other side. After completing the bridge, Dare watched as Patton gave a speech and led a ceremony in celebration of the river crossing.
Dare then headed to the Austrian border to rejoin his regiment. When he was close to the border, Dare spotted a group of Nazi soldiers heading toward them waving the white flag of surrender. He realized the war was over. He traveled to Belgium before discharge and return to Cleveland, Ohio.
Dare passed away in 2010.
More of his story can be found at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.24355/.
We honor his service.
Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Veterans History Project
This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.
Contributors
Editor:
Fact checker/additional writing:
Graphic artist: Bryttni Carpenter
Topics in this story
More Stories
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Navy Veteran Ken Mattingly, who served as a pilot during the 1950s and later became an astronaut during the Apollo missions.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Air Force Veteran Gavino Cavazos, who served from 1949 to 1973 during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Howard Brown, who served during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1969 and the Gulf War from 1969 to 1992.
I love your “Vets of the Day” articles! They cause me to recall just how important these Veterians were and are to our countries freedom! I’m proud to be among all of America’s finest. I’m a DAV of both Korea and Vietnam and whenever someone says to me “Thank you for your service” I always replay with, “It was my pleasure and honor to serve this Great Nation!!!!
Tom shoemaker
We honor the service of Leo Dare.