John Herrick

Herrick

John Herrick

Army

JOHN
HERRICK

Nov 11, 1924 - Jun 6, 1944
BIRTHPLACE: Bushong, KS

SOLDIER DETAILS

HIGHEST RANK: Sergeant
DIVISION:
Army
THEATER OF OPERATION:
European
BATTLE: D-Day
HONORED BY: The Eisenhower Foundation
KILLED IN ACTION

BIOGRAPHY

John Herrick was living on a small farm in Bushong, KS., and working for his father, Carl Herrick, when he enlisted in the Army. Herrick landed in the Air Force and on June 6th, 1944, at the age of 19, was aboard a transport ship headed for Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. His ship hit an underwater mine and then was hit by Nazi artillery fire, with some of servicemen instantly killed. Most of the missing crew had not been identified but in 2024, the remains of Herrick and two others onboard were identified. His niece, Kathy Lamb reported, 'My uncle, finally will be laid to rest at home'. The funeral is scheduled on his 100th birthday, Nov. 11, 2024. "John was very charismatic,” Lamb said. “He was honor, and he was a typical Kansas farm boy. He skipped school a couple times, and he would mow the lawn, but wouldn’t take any money for it, but if they wanted to give him a piece of pie. He would take it.”  The identification process of Herrick’s remains started in the summer of 2021. DNA from a family member helped make the positive ID in August of last year. The family finally received the call they had been waiting for. Courtesy of WIBW and kwch.com news