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Private 1st Class
Darrel "Happy" NeilDarrel "Happy" Neil was born in 1922 in Mulberry, Kansas. When he was 20 years old, he married Wilma Harvey. Four months later, he was shipped overseas. He served with the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division.
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Obituary for Darrel "Happy" Neil. Gift of Rick Staples, 2010.546.001.Neil was killed in action on July 7, 1944 in France during the Normandy campaign. He was 22 years old.
After his death, Neil’s company commander wrote to his mother saying Darrel had always conducted himself as a "gentleman and a true soldier." -
In this May 23, 1944 letter home, Neil wrote about homesickness and patriotism saying, "The American flag means a whole lot to me. I am glad that when I do come home I can say that I have a share in it." Gift of Rick Staples, 2010.546.001.
In the same letter, he wrote of his future plans to have a family, a dream that would not be fulfilled. "I am going to have a son when I come back home. That’s what I am fighting for. It may be a girl but I’ll think as much of a daughter as I would a son." Gift of Rick Staples, 2010.546.001.In his letters home, Darrel doted on his mother and encouraged his sister Rosalpha to stay in school and go to college. He often asked about his father, sometimes pleading with his mother to ask him to write.
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In her final letter, his mother wrote, "You are still my little boy. Although you are 22." In that same letter, his father also penned some words to his son, who had been waiting to hear from him since boot camp. The letter was returned to the family unopened, the word "Deceased" stamped on the envelope.
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The program from the funeral of Darrel "Happy" Neil. Gift of Rick Staples, 2010.546.001.This Memorial Day, Honor Private 1st Class Darrel "Happy" Neil
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