Passenger Pvt. Harold L. Bricker DIS
Unit: 853rd Engineer BN. Avn. Corps of Eng.
Hometown: Pennsylvania
Service # 33496858
Awards: Purple Heart
Captain:
Ship: HMT Rohna
Mission: Troop Transport Convoy KMF-26
Loss Date: November 26, 1943
Location: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria.
Cause: German guided missile
Crew: On Board 2000 · Saved 606 · Lost 1138
This was the first successful "hit" of a merchant vessel at sea carrying US troops by a German remote-controlled, rocket-boosted bomb, thus giving birth to the "Missile Age", and it resulted in the greatest loss of troops (1,015) at sea in U.S. history. Combined with the loss of ship's crew and officers, and three Red Cross workers, more lives were lost than on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
The "hit" was so devastating that the U.S. Government placed a veil of secrecy upon it. The events which followed were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades until recently (1967), when documents were grudgingly released under pressure of the Freedom of Information Act. The government still does not acknowledge this tragedy, thus most families of the casualties still do not know the fate of their loved ones. In 1995, over fifty years later, a group of survivors, next-of-kin and rescuers, came together for the sole purpose of enabling the creation and dedication of a Rohna Memorial.
On November 26, 1943 nearly two thousand American soldiers faced the most traumatic experience of their young lives. They woke up that morning aboard a vessel that some described as unfit for human habitation. Just a bunch of kids, mostly only a year or so out of high school. Exhibiting the expected Yankee cockiness, they were ready to take on anything the war had to offer. Having survived a Thanksgiving Day dinner the day before, things just had to get better. The sad part of it was, this would be the last Thanksgiving for over half of them!
The minesweeper USS Pioneer rescued 606 survivors of the sinking.
Pfc. Bricker appears Tablets of the Missing North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial Carthage Tunis, Tunisia. His memorial Fishburn United Methodist Church Cemetery Hershey Dauphin County Pennsylvania is a cenotaph his body was never recovered.
Visit the virtual cemetery o f HMT Rohna Crew
" Click Here "
Passenger Pvt. Harold L. Bricker DIS
Unit: 853rd Engineer BN. Avn. Corps of Eng.
Hometown: Pennsylvania
Service # 33496858
Awards: Purple Heart
Captain:
Ship: HMT Rohna
Mission: Troop Transport Convoy KMF-26
Loss Date: November 26, 1943
Location: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria.
Cause: German guided missile
Crew: On Board 2000 · Saved 606 · Lost 1138
This was the first successful "hit" of a merchant vessel at sea carrying US troops by a German remote-controlled, rocket-boosted bomb, thus giving birth to the "Missile Age", and it resulted in the greatest loss of troops (1,015) at sea in U.S. history. Combined with the loss of ship's crew and officers, and three Red Cross workers, more lives were lost than on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
The "hit" was so devastating that the U.S. Government placed a veil of secrecy upon it. The events which followed were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades until recently (1967), when documents were grudgingly released under pressure of the Freedom of Information Act. The government still does not acknowledge this tragedy, thus most families of the casualties still do not know the fate of their loved ones. In 1995, over fifty years later, a group of survivors, next-of-kin and rescuers, came together for the sole purpose of enabling the creation and dedication of a Rohna Memorial.
On November 26, 1943 nearly two thousand American soldiers faced the most traumatic experience of their young lives. They woke up that morning aboard a vessel that some described as unfit for human habitation. Just a bunch of kids, mostly only a year or so out of high school. Exhibiting the expected Yankee cockiness, they were ready to take on anything the war had to offer. Having survived a Thanksgiving Day dinner the day before, things just had to get better. The sad part of it was, this would be the last Thanksgiving for over half of them!
The minesweeper USS Pioneer rescued 606 survivors of the sinking.
Pfc. Bricker appears Tablets of the Missing North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial Carthage Tunis, Tunisia. His memorial Fishburn United Methodist Church Cemetery Hershey Dauphin County Pennsylvania is a cenotaph his body was never recovered.
Visit the virtual cemetery o f HMT Rohna Crew
" Click Here "
Inscription
Co. A 853rd Engr. Bn.
Family Members
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Verna May Bricker Swartz
1911–1995
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Mary Ann Bricker Holbert
1912–1996
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Aaron A Bricker
1914–1914
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Russell Edward Bricker
1915–2004
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Marlin Sylvester Bricker Sr
1917–1996
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Harvey Eugene Bricker
1919–2010
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John Henry Bricker Jr
1921–1996
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PFC Harold Leroy Bricker
1923–1943
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Paul R Bricker Sr
1924–2001
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Dorothy Romaine "Dot" Bricker Potteiger
1926–2006
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Arlene E. Bricker Brunner
1927–2016
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CPL Harry A. "Henner-Babes" Bricker
1929–2008
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