Robert V. T. Resek

Robert V.T. Resek

Company C 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

4th Infantry Division

KIA 11/20/1944

Robert Vincent Thomas Resek was born in Ossining, Westchester County, New York on July 23, 1918.

His home of residence was listed as Beacon, New York.

Prior to entering military service he was a Letter Carrier for the U.S. Postal Service
in Beacon, Dutchess County, New York.

His Army serial number indicates he was drafted into the Army.

The application for his grave marker indicates he entered the Army on July 16, 1942.

From The Beacon News Tuesday October 12, 1943

Courtesy of Julien Woestyn

Newspaper clipping about Robert Resek returning to Camp Gordon
after sending a week furlough at home.

From The Beacon News Monday, February 8, 1943 courtesy of Julien Woestyn

Robert Resek in training in the United States.

(Note: at the time of the photo he was not a Sergeant.)

Photo from the Beacon Historical Society
Facebook page via Julien Woestyn.

He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal as a Private First Class in Company C,
in Headquarters 22nd Infantry General Orders No. 14 dated December 31, 1943
at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

He landed on D-Day as a Corporal.

On July 2, 1944 Resek was promoted to Sergeant.

Sergeant Resek was killed in action in Germany during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest
on November 20, 1944.

Above: The entry for Robert V. Resek in the casualty lists of the 22nd Infantry for the month of November 1944.

The following is from the Beacon Historical Society Facebook page:

[Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from a letter written in 1944 by an Army Chaplain to Mrs.
Mary Resek of 137 Spring Valley Street in Beacon to console her on the death of her son, Robert. Bob
Resek was one of the 67 men from Beacon who was killed in World War 11.]

December 2, 1944 Dear Mrs. Resek:

The Officers and Enlisted men of the 22nd Infantry Regiment join me in the regret that we must extend
to you our sincerest sympathy on the death of your son, Sgt. Robert V. Resek. Your boy was a part of
our "Famous Fourth" Division, as much as he was a part of your own home. We were proud to have him
with us.

Your son was killed in action, somewhere in Germany, on November 20, 1944. He now lies buried in an
American Military Cemetery in Allied territory. Just as both you and he would have wished it,
appropriate Catholic burial services were conducted for him by a Catholic Army Chaplain.

As a soldier, your son bravely fought and bravely died, to stamp out the threat of slavery which hangs
over the world today. As a member of our great Allied Armies, he brought liberation, new hope, and new
life to Nations that had been insulted, robbed, tortured, defiled, and enslaved by their conquerors.
With such courage and strength in his heart, your son walked humbly with his God, and was therefore
worthy to conquer.

As we pray for you and your son, we, the "buddies" of your boy, ask a remembrance in your prayers for
those of us who still fight on.

With deepest sympathy, Chaplain (1st Lt.) Gerald Rabe

Robert Resek was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in 4th Division General Orders # 8
dated 15 January 1945.

Decorations of Robert V.T. Resek

Robert V.T. Resek was buried in the temporary U.S. Military Cemetery,
Henri-Chapelle Cemetery, Eupen, Belgium and some time later
his remains were returned to the United States where he was
reinterred in New York.

Burial:
Saint Joachims Cemetery
Beacon
Dutchess County
New York

Grave marker for Robert V. T. Resek

Photo by Doug from the Find A Grave website

Grave monument for Robert V. T. Resek

Photo by Doug from the Find A Grave website

Top photo of Robert Resek from the Beacon Historical Society
Facebook page via Julien Woestyn.

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