Dick Elmo Hall was an orphan. He enlisted in the regular army when he graduated high school and it was from those enlisted ranks that he received a Presidential appointment to West Point in the class of what became January, 1943. Upon graduation and completion of officer's basic he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and assigned to the 66th Infantry Division at Fort Blanding in Florida. At that time the 66th was mainly training replacement troops. Somehow he wrangled an overseas assignment for himself and the Lieutenant of Infantry became a Cavalry Lieutenant in Troop B of he 113th Cavalry Squadron, 113th Cavalry group. It came ashore in Normandy in early July, 1944 and immediately saw action against whatever was left of the 117th SS Panzer Grenadiers. Lt. Hall was killed a few weeks later during Operation Cobra when his recon patrol was ambushed. He manned the .50 Cal on his scout car and it was there that he died laying down covering fire as his patrol escaped the ambush. He was awarded a Silver Star. His wife of a year and three months had given birth to a son in June and had been anxiously awaiting his response to the news. She wrote seven letters in the first two weeks of August that eventually came back to her after she had been notified of his death. The last words of the last letter dated August 15: "Oh, my love, for just a letter, even a couple little words from you!! My world would be almost right again, Ah loves ya honey" On August 15 the telegram arrived.

Lin Hall, family