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Unit:
101st Airborne Division, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Date of Birth:
April 6, 2023
Hometown:
Winchester, Virginia
Date of Death:
June 6, 1944
Place of Death:
St. Martin, France
Awards:
Purple Heart
Cemetery:
Linaburg was born on or near April 6, 1923 to Edward and Carrie Linaburg. Delmer had four siblings named Clyde, Esther, Lela, and Douglas. Delmer’s parents divorced in 1931, and he lived with his father before moving to live with his mother. His father remarried a woman named Elsie Derflinger. By 1940 Delmer Linaburg had six additional half siblings: Edith, Jessie, Helen, Freddie, Johnnie, and Edward Linaburg.
Delmer was a member of a local church, and relatives described how he and his brothers went to the local grocery store with their allowance. Clyde Linaburg often looked after his younger brothers, and Delmer grew to have a very strong bond with him and his other siblings. He was also known to have a very strong sense of humor. Delmer’s niece described the family’s fond memories of Delmer’s amusing character and humorous qualities.
Delmer Linaburg was 17 years old when he enlisted into the Virginia National Guard, and never married or had children. He did not attended college, but worked to support his family in the other ways that he could.
With Winchester at war, Linaburg’s hometown became a source of support for the front. World War II amplified industries across America, and Winchester was no exception.
The rural farming town produced a significant amount of fruit prior to the war. The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, founded in1924 in Winchester, became a symbol of the agricultural importance of the town. The apple crop was a significant part of Winchester, and its residents were proud to have the largest apple cold storage facility in the east.
Winchester, when compared with other cities in America, produced and sold goods at an above average level. The sales per capita at the time of 1944 was $664, significantly higher than the national average of $344. They sold primarily food, along with automotive equipment, lumber, building supplies, and hardware. Two of the largest apple by-product plants in the world were also located in Linaburg’s hometown. Winchester was also home to a glove factory and an automobile tire factory.
Winchester was also home to WINC, one of the most modern radio stations in the state. This impacted the town greatly. Information from the war spread quickly, and the culture of big cities had a way into rural Winchester.
On the homefront, Linaburg’s sister, Lela, worked as a waitress at York’s Tourist Camp. His brother Clyde was a silk worker and a mechanic a local garage. Soon however, Clyde entered the armed forces and served in the Pacific . Articles from the Winchester Evening Star show that the names Seabright and Linaburg were prominent in the town. This could support evidence that the extended Linaburg family were active on the homefront.
Delmer Linaburg enlisted into Company I of the Virginia National Guard 116th Infantry Regiment on February 3, 1941. He began his military training at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. Like others, he underwent significant strength and stamina training. On March 25, 1941, Linaburg transferred to Headquarters Company of the 29th Infantry Division, but continued his training at the same location.
On September 11, 1942, Linaburg moved to Company A of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Linaburg prepared to make the jump into combat, but first he needed to learn how to land successfully. Paratroopers learned how to jump, fall, and roll onto the ground. They practiced mock jumps from large towers, and eventually made their way to jumping from a C-47 aircraft.
In his time of military training, Linaburg was promoted to sergeant at age 19. He continued to train at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was officially placed on jump status on August 17, 1942. He received an additional $50 in his pay, and became a pioneer in American aviation tactics. Linaburg’s commanding officers often reported his strong moral character and excellent performance as a soldier.
In 1943, Linaburg was transferred to Company A of the 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
It was in February 1943 that Linaburg began to send a portion of his paycheck home to his mother. He sent $35.00 every month to support his family.
While not all details of Linaburg’s military records are known, he was transferred to Company B of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment between 1943 and 1944. At this time, he also left the United States to enter the European Theater. Linaburg moved to England and remained there until the invasion of France.
The 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment was tasked with seizing transportation causeways three and four behind Utah Beach. The causeways were located on the eastern coast of the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. Due to flooding, these causeways were essential to the Allied invasion. They were the only way for troops on the beaches to enter into the French countryside. Once these causeways were captured by paratroopers, more forces could safely enter from the coast.
Paratroopers faced many risks on the day of the invasion. The airborne faced heavy fire from German troops, many planes crashed, and many paratroopers missed their drop zones. Once on the ground, heavy equipment weighed down airborne men, causing many to drown in the flooded fields. Others were caught in trees, and their tangled parachutes left them defenseless against German troops.
Linaburg exited his plane on the morning of Operation Overlord and landed in the St. Martin area of France, over 150 miles east of Utah Beach. While attempting to seize a bridge leading to enemy supplies, Linaburg was killed instantly by German machine gun fire.
Linaburg was temporarily buried in two cemeteries before being put to rest at Normandy American Cemetery. The first was in Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, then Sainte-Mère-Église. His mother made the decision to lay Linaburg to rest among his brothers in arms in France. He rests in Normandy American Cemetery among his comrades, who sacrificed their lives as he did. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the European Theater Medal.
Separated by decades of history, we may not have known Delmer Linaburg personally, but our journey in celebrating his memory has made him family in our own way.
He grew up in a one-room house in the country with two brothers and his father. Despite the financial hardships his family faced, Linaburg approached life with passion. Linaburg was also known to have a goofy sense of humor, he poked fun at his sister in one of his letters home, and joked about other paratroopers getting into trouble at his camp.
But Linaburg was a brother and son first. He had a strong relationship with his mother in particular, who cared for and supported her sons and daughters in the small ways that she could. A week before the invasion of Normandy, Linaburg wrote to ensure that his mother Carrie knew he appreciated all of the sacrifices she made for him. Wanting to assure her, he wrote, “mother, in case anything should happen to me, I want you to know that you are the best mother in the world and I appreciate everything that you have done for me.” Linaburg sacrificed his life with the intent to protect and care for his family, but now, we honor his sacrifice for all of us.
Delmer D. Linaburg, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Department of the Army.
Delmer D. Linaburg, Official Military Personnel File, Department of the Army, RG 319, National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.
Delmer D. Linaburg. c. 1941. National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. In Back to Normandy. Compiled by Derek Hanson. www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/places-and-names-to-remember/american-cemetery-and-memorial/117871-D-20-25.html.
Delmer D. Linaburg to Carrie Seabright. June 2, 1944. Courtesy of Derek Hanson.
“Numerical Telephone Directory.” Winchester City Directory. Vol. 7. Winchester, Virginia: Southern Directory Publishers, 1941. 209, 224, 341 .
Paratroopers in Douglas C-47. Photograph. June 6, 1941. National Archives and Records Administration (A1564). Image.
“Preface.” Winchester City Directory. Vol. 8. Winchester, Virginia: Winchester Printers and Stationers, 1944. 8-9.
Virginia. Frederick County. 1930 U.S. Census. Digital Images. ancestry.com.
Virginia. Frederick County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital Images. ancestry.com.
Wilson, Ronald S. Douglas Linaburg Certificate of Marriage. Winchester: Corporation Court, January 7, 1945.
Corrado, Kate. Delmer D. Linaburg’s Grave at Normandy American Cemetery. June 26, 2018.
“Delmer D. Linaburg.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed August 24, 2018. www.abmc.gov/node/410945#.W4BdNpNKib8.
Donak, Nancy. Telephone interview with Kate Corrado. April 20, 2018.
Paratroops. United States: US Office of War Information, 1943. Film. March 1, 2017. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlJ7R3BsPxs.
“Parachute Training in Britain.” WWII Today RSS, ww2today.com/19th-october-1942-parachute-training-in-britain.
The American Battle Monuments Commission operates and maintains 26 cemeteries and 31 federal memorials, monuments and commemorative plaques in 17 countries throughout the world, including the United States.
Since March 4, 1923, the ABMC’s sacred mission remains to honor the service, achievements, and sacrifice of more than 200,000 U.S. service members buried and memorialized at our sites.
