Robert Dickson

ASN:38512965

Robert G.K. Dickson, born November 18, 1924, and from Yell County, Arkansas, joined the Merchant Marines directly out of high school. He then returned home and at the age of 19 enlisted in the United States Army on September 1, 1943.

Following training at Camp Roberts and Fort Bragg, PVT Dickson was shipped out to the European Theatre of Operations on May 6, 1944, arriving in England on May 21, 1944. He was assigned as a replacement soldier to A-Battery, 319th Field Artillery Group, 82nd Airborne Division. This was effective June 2, 1944, as an Army MOS 531, antitank gun crewman and jeep driver. The 319th was stationed at Papillon Hall, Market Harborough, England.

Company Morning Reports were produced every morning by the individual Army units to record personnel matters. The following event was reported: 

February 16, 1945, while stationed at Stavelot, Belgium PVT Dickson was promoted to PFC.

Company Morning Reports

PFC Dickson fought in the following battles and campaigns: Normandy, Holland, Ardennes and Central Europe campaigns. 

May 1945, the war was over. The US Army used the Adjusted Service Rating Score (ASR) at the end of the war to determine when soldiers were eligible for discharge.

By August 1945, PFC Dickson was now stationed in Berlin, Germany, for occupational duty with other 319th soldiers having an ASR score of less than 85. For the next few months, the A-Battery men were housed in what had formerly been a Nazi SS barracks. 

Robert Dickson also appeared in the A-Battery group photo taken June 20, 1945 in Epinal, France.

Photos above courtesy of Charlotte Sartain Provenza and Joseph Covais, author of BATTERY.

Upon completion of their duties PFC Dickson was transferred in grade, November 29, 1945, to the 536 Engineer Lt Pontoon Company, Camp Washington. Hopeful of being home for Christmas the 319th could not procure a troop transport in Le Havre, France, due to a dockworker’s strike. 

An available “Liberty Ship” was located in Antwerp, Belgium, where they sailed from on December 13, 1945. A late season hurricane and stop for repairs in the Azores delayed their journey, as a result they did not arrive in New York Harbor until December 30, 1945. 

PFC Dickson was honorably discharged on January 3, 1945 in St. Louis, Missouri, and returned to his home in Arkansas on January 6, 1945.

PFC Robert G.K. Dickson was awarded 5 Bronze Battle Stars, Bronze Arrowhead, Good Conduct Medal, the Belgian Fourragere, Glider Badge, French Fourragerre, Netherlands Orange Lanyard, Presidential Unit Citation Badge, Germany Occupation Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbon.

Robert G.K. Dickson, 94, died April 8, 2019.

God Bless this hero.