S SGT James K. Desper was born on November 9th 1922 in Augusta, Virginia. To his parents John William born in 1899 to his death in 1966 and Callie Virginia Troxell born in 1900 to her death in 1989. James grew up with one sister, Louise V., and one brother, Charles E. He attended Grammar school, worked as a recreation and amusement attend. James was unmarried with n children of his own.

S SGT James K. Desper enlisted on February 3rd 1941 in Augusta, Virginia, with service number 20365639. James was with the 29th Infantry Division, 116th Infantry Regiment Company L.

In England the regiment trained for their eventual participation in the D-Day invasion at Normandy, France. The 116th Infantry Regiment was to be part of Force O which was the initial assault force at Omaha Beach and Company L was to be part of the second wave of the Normandy assault. From 3 to 8 May 1944, the regiment participated in Exercise Fabius at Slapton Sands, England, which was their final rehearsal before D-Day. It is fairly certain that PFC Bean was part of this rehearsal.

On 15 May 1944, the regiment relocated by truck to Blandford Camp where it was confined behind barbed wire to preserve secrecy. On 3 Jun 1944, the regiment embarked for Normandy from Weymouth, England. The 3rd Battalion (roughly 1000 strong), which included Companies A, K, L and M, boarded and crossed the English Channel on the USS Charles Carroll.

By 0430 on 6 Jun 1944, all first wave Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) had left their ships and moved towards Omaha Beach and landed by about 0630. Company L’s LCVPs approached Omaha Beach at 0700 and landed at about 0750, roughly 30 minutes later than scheduled. They landed to the left of the Fox Green landing area and took heavy casualties as the boats approached the beach, lowered their ramps and as the soldiers crossed the roughly 200 yards of beach to reach cover. Of the roughly 240 men of Company L, only about 125 survived Company L’s assault.

S SGT James Kenneth Desper is missing in action on June 6th 1944, for his actions he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. James Desper is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing in Normandy American Cemetery.

Resources:

SSGT James Kenneth Desper (1922-1944) - Find A Grave Memorial

James Kenneth Desper : Staff Sergeant from Virginia, World War II Casualty (honorstates.org)

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 03423; Reel: 64

National Archives and Records Administration; Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. 1970 - ca. 1970; NAI: 570973; Record Group Number: Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775-1994; Record Group Title: 112

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency; Washington DC; Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B, 1941-1975

Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

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James K Desper