The major project for this class has been to research a soldier who died during the Normandy Campaign, one who lost their life to defeat the “odious apparatus of Nazi rule.” Besides that he could not be a famous general or Medal of Honor winner, the only criteria was a man buried in the Normandy-American Cemetery. While applying to the class, I remembered words I wrote myself in one of the previous articles for R-MA. “It is up to the living world to keep their memory alive, and in doing so, to make sure they may live immortal, never to fade away.” During Homecoming Weekend 2019, I snuck away for a moment to Melton Gym, and took a picture of our memorial wall. Only one name was confirmed to be at the Normandy-American Cemetery.
Henry F. Hatcher ’39.
Henry Hatcher was born on September 23, 1923. He was killed in action on July 13, 1944. He was just twenty years old, the same age as I am now. He was born in Washington, D.C., and lived within the city his entire life, just like me. He died on July 13, the date I was born, fifty-five years later. With such coincidences fueling interest, I immediately took to researching Private Hatcher, three full months before the class began. So, what have I learned?
Henry Frederick Hatcher was born to Rodney Frederick Hatcher and Blanche Furr Hatcher. While he was his mother’s only child, his father had two older children – a son named Rodney and a daughter named Gertrude. His family were Methodists, which likely influenced their choice in education for young Henry. Very little can be found on Henry before the first day he put on a uniform at the age of thirteen. In 1936, he began to attend a boarding school atop a hill in Front Royal, Virginia.
Hatcher was at R-MA for three years. He transferred away from the school in 1939. While at R-MA, he wore the army uniform (the school having been part of the National Defense Cadet Corps at the time), and in the 1938-1939 school year, he was in Company C. He is considered R-MA’s Class of 1939.
Hatcher transferred to Fishburne Military School for the rest of his high school education. Though his father died in December, 1939, he did not return to D.C., remaining at the school until he graduated in 1942. In his senior year, he had picked up the nickname “Hatch,” played basketball, and was in the school’s Company A. By then, he had already spent five years wearing military uniforms. His education was not quite finished yet. He had been accepted to Virginia Tech.
Hatcher was in the University’s Corps of Cadets. He would only study engineering at Virginia Tech for one semester. A war had engulfed the world, and he could not sit idly by. During the Second World War, 850 R-MA alumni served their country. Thirty-two – among them Henry Hatcher – made the ultimate sacrifice.
On July 5, 1943, Hatcher volunteered for the U.S. Army. According to his service records, he was single with no dependents, and he was a light machine gunner. Just barely a year later and 33 days after D-Day, Hatcher transferred from the 86th Replacement Battalion on July 8, 1944, to the 83rd Infantry Division. There were five days left in his life.
Hatcher was a replacement for another man in the 83rd, who had been killed, wounded, or captured. The division sustained 5,000 casualties between July 4 and July 15. The 331st Infantry Regiment, to which Hatch would belong, had five commanders in one week. What time Private Hatcher died on July 13 is unknown, and there are conflicting verdicts on how he died between his burial report and his medical report.
Henry F. Hatcher had been in the military for one year and one week, and in a combat unit for five of those days. Sadly, the tale does not entirely end with his death. Though he was buried just a day after his death, he was declared Missing In Action on July 19; it took until late August before that was revised to Killed In Action. His mother held out hope that he was still alive until she received the only personal effects he left behind: his wristwatch.
Henry Frederick Hatcher volunteered. He pledged his service to his country, an oath to do his duty. During his life, he spent eight years in uniform, three of those at R-MA. He made the greatest sacrifice of all, and lies eternally at rest, surrounded by his countrymen far from home.