James Arthur Dickerson

James Arthur Dickerson graduated from high school in 1930 and enlisted in the Navy shortly after that. He served as an aviation mechanic on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) before being discharged in 1935. He then went to UW-Madison, graduating in 1939. He served a stint in the Civilian Conservation Corps before joining the Army in 1941 as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the Army's first glider infantry unit, the 88th Airborne Infantry Battalion, in fall 1941. In this unit, Dickerson served as a test officer; he helped develop the US Army's airborne infantry doctrine in the days leading up to America's involvement in World War II. He was then assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to captain and assigned as the intelligence officer for the regiment. He was sent overseas in November 1943 and participated in the 507th's combat jump during D-Day. He would go on to continue fighting with the 507th, making multiple other combat jumps throughout the European campaign. Dickerson was killed in action on March 24, 1945, when his unit jumped into Wesel, Germany as part of Operation Varsity. He is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Limburg, Netherlands.