Donald Thomas Mitchell
Donald was the youngest son and fourth child born to Letha and Robert Mitchell. Born on 27 July 1923 in Kingston, Pennsylvania, he spent the first years of his life living at 727 Market Street in Kingston. His father, Robert, worked in the Wilkes-Barre Lace Manufacturing Co. at 36 Courtright Avenue. My dad remembered his childhood as happy, and though they lived through the Depression, they seemed to have done OK. Some family members ran a truck farm out in Dallas, so they were able to get food cheaply. According to his elementary school report cards, he was never a stellar student, but fairly average.
Some memories
A few memories that he told me about: He remembers being a little afraid of his grandfather Justin Keller because he would grab him with his cane, probably teasing him, but it scared the little tyke. Another: his father would take him on weekends to visit his Grandfather Thomas Mitchell over in Wilkes-Barre, where he'd always be in bed. He remembers making a car trip with Thomas (back to the old home in Paterson, New Jersey?) and they'd have barely turned off his home street when Thomas would say in his Scotch accent "I want to go back to my wee hoose".
He remembers the day when his oldest brother Robert, just 15 at the time, was killed in a car accident. He'd just come from getting his driver's license and was hit by a truck down the road from their home. His car smashed into a telephone pole and he was killed instantly. Dad would have been 8 when this happened.
Don graduated from Kingston Township High School in 1941. It was after 
this that my parents met and began courting. I think they met at a church camp. Here's a picture of them at Dad's farm in Shavertown. He looks like a goner.
World War II
World War II was just beginning in Europe. Dad enlisted on 19 February, 1943 in New Cumberland, Luzerne, Pa. He enlisted in the Signal Corps for a term of 6 months initially. or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer; Signal Corps as Private
His Service
Dad didn't talk much about his time in the army, but I eventually questioned him about his experiences. He spent time in training, and then was deployed to England, where he served in a motorpool. I think he was based in Coventry. He was always behind the front and not in battle situations, but I believe he saw some scenes he wished he hadn't. Often when we travelled around Europe in the '60s he would mention that he'd been at this or that place during the war. He spent time in France, Paris and Marseilles after the Liberation.
A Life-Changing Experience
He was involved in on horrifying experience as his infantry division crossed the English Channel on Christmas Eve of 1944. He was aboard a second ship, when the other troop ship, S.S. Leopoldville was hit by a torpedo from a German submarine as they neared Cherbourg. 783 young tropps were lost in this disaster, many of them men who from his unit who had been his friends. He always wondered why he had been spared, while other men of his age were lost so tragically. For more on this incident- which truly was horrifying, please visit these links:
SS Leopoldville; Video of the wreck exploration: ; History of the S.S. Leopoldville.
66th Infantry Division
"The Black Panthers"
For a detailed and excellent description of the actions and events experienced by Don's division, go to this site: 66th Infantry Division and History of the 66th Division Dad was only 21 in Dec.,1944. The 66th was deployed from occupation in France in September of 1945. Was Dad in 262nd or 264th regiment? What Company?