Eugene E. Dahl was born on September 20, 1918 in the town of Ketchikan, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska to Emil Conrad Dahl and Anna B. Dahl, nee Clark. Emil Dahl was a Norwegian immigrant. Eugene had a younger brother, Alfred Dahl. The family lived in Seattle, where Emil worked as a foreman at a fish cannery. Anna died in 1935 in Seattle.

In June 1934, when Eugene was 15 years old, he robbed a grocery store in Everett, Washington with a 16-year-old friend, George Lapierre. The two fled the scene in a car, but were chased by police officer, Harold Peterson. Lapierre was shot twice with buckshot when he abandoned the car but was not seriously injured. Both boys were sentenced to the Washington State Reform School in Chehalis, Washington. Eugene later attended Broadway High School in Seattle. Eugene Dahl married Clara Scott on April 6, 1940 in King County, Washington. The couple had two daughters, Patricia and Darlene Dahl.

Eugene Emil Dahl registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. He was 22 years old, 5’10” tall, and weighed 165 pounds. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a dark complexion. He lived in Manchester, Kitsap County, Washington and was employed by the University Plumbing and Heating Company of Bremerton. He was inducted into the United States Army on June 12, 1944 at Ft. Lewis, Washington.

Private Eugene Dahl served in the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. When Dahl joined the unit it had already fought in the North African, Sicilian, and Italian campaigns. In August1944, the unit was sent to southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. After landing on the beaches of the Côte d'Azur, the 3rd Division fought northward through the Rhone River valley, inflicting heavy casualties on the retreating German forces. The 3rd advanced through the Vosges Mountains and reached the Rhine at Strasbourg in November 1944. By January 1945, the German army had been pushed back across the Rhine except for a pocket of resistance around the town of Colmar, France.

Private Dahl was killed in action on January 24 1945, in France. He is buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Epinal, Lorraine, France. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Eugene’s brother, Alfred Dahl, also served in World War II. He was with the Signal Corps in India.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project

(see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to

write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We

Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be

accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at clock902@aol.com.

SBTSProject/Washington/King County

Sources:

WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List, https://www.fold3.com/image/310763500?rec=299423349

WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/701414304/dahl-eugene-e-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

WWII Army Enlistment Records, https://www.fold3.com/record/91048294/eugene-e-dahl-wwii-army-enlistment-records

American Battle Monuments Commission, https://www.fold3.com/record/529852185/eugene-e-dahl-american-battle-monuments-commission

Findagrave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56371871/eugene-emil-dahl

The Seattle Star, 17 Feb 1945, Sat · Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/773561039?utm_source=fold3.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Fold3&_gl=1*kslkgp*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MTgwLjM4LjAuMA..

1920 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/111419358:6061?_gl=1*15e9pv*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MTgwLjM4LjAuMA..

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/112181045:6224?_gl=1*15e9pv*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MTgwLjM4LjAuMA..

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/64787844:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=c29d3355affe77ed09c592a1a27215b4&_phsrc=xOR61617&_phstart=successSource&_gl=1*15e9pv*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MTgwLjM4LjAuMA..

Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5433:9170?_gl=1*urjxt0*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MTgwLjM4LjAuMA..

The Seattle Daily Times, Friday, Feb 16, 1945, Seattle, WA, Page: 11, https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A127D718D1E33F961%40GB3NEWS-12A708FE6D78975A%402431503-12A7067A3087BB4B%4010-12A7067A3087BB4B%40?h=1&fname=eugene%20e.&lname=dahl&fullname=&rgfromDate=1941&rgtoDate=1949&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&state%5B0%5D=alaska&state%5B1%5D=washington&sid=imizgvahsrnhxhfzlomhxqqnfqprwfcq_wma-gateway004_1684896703839

The Seattle Daily Times, Tuesday, Jun 05, 1934, Seattle, WA Page: 13, https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A127D718D1E33F961%40GB3NEWS-1297775DAAE6953A%402427594-12973AB919DF04FE%4012-12973AB919DF04FE%40?h=6&fname=eugene&lname=dahl&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&sort=old&sid=bxgvyuxpaoxxfiudwjdajkutmjztjxxs_wma-gateway005_1684897315611

The Seattle Sunday Times, Sunday, Feb 25, 1945, Seattle, WA, Page: 22, https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A127D718D1E33F961%40GB3NEWS-12A7091CD1CE1508%402431512-12A35EF99461697F%4021-12A35EF99461697F%40?h=2&fname=eugene%20e.&lname=dahl&fullname=&rgfromDate=1941&rgtoDate=1949&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&state%5B0%5D=alaska&state%5B1%5D=washington&sid=imizgvahsrnhxhfzlomhxqqnfqprwfcq_wma-gateway004_1684896703839

Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPMV-Y8WC

Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/151006:62271?_gl=1*x8lebp*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MzYwLjYwLjAuMA..

World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/36894682:2238?_gl=1*x8lebp*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY4NTU3MzkyNC4xOTMuMS4xNjg1NTc1MzYwLjYwLjAuMA..

Eugene E Dahl