DOB/DOD: August 12, 1919 (Norwalk, CT) – June 12, 1999 (Norwalk, CT); 79 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Jean E. Thompson (1927-2014) on August 14, 1948 in Norwalk, CT
CHILDREN: Two sons, John J. III (1956-) and Scott T. (1958-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: West Cedar Street
ENLISTMENT: February 9, 1942
DISCHARGE: July 8, 1945
SERVICE NUMBER: 31063228
UNIT: Company H, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division
FAMILY: Born to John J. Sr. (1884-1969) and Nellie E. McDonald Silk (1893-1968). One brother, James F. (1915-1966).
From The Norwalk Hour November 15, 1944
SSGT JOHN SILK, JR., WOUNDED IN ACTION
Washington, D.C. — Staff Sergeant John J. Silk, Jr. Mrs. Nellie Silk, mother, West Cedar Street, Norwalk, has been wounded in action in the European area, the War Department announced today.
From The Norwalk Hour December 8, 1944
SGT JOHN SILK, JR. WOUNDED AGAIN
Injuries Serious, War Dept. Says; Previously Hurt Two Months Ago In Action
Staff Sergeant John Silk, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. John Silk of West Cedar Street, was seriously wounded in action in the European area on November 22, according to a War Department telegram received this morning by his parents. Staff Sergeant Silk was also wounded about two months ago, and when he had recovered from injuries sustained at that time, he was returned to active duty. With the 29th Infantry in France, he has seen continuous action under fire since D-Day and recently wrote his mother that he was sending her the Purple Heart, the Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Silver Star awards that he had received. Staff Sergeant Silk, who is 25, went into service about three years ago and has been overseas for two years. In civilian life, he was with the Hat Corporation of America. His brother, Corporal James F. Silk, is with the 158th Engineers in Belgium.
From The Norwalk Hour June 5, 1994; by Francis X. Fay
NORWALK — When the ramp door of their LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) opened on Omaha Beach 50 years ago, the machine gun platoon of Sergeant John J. Silk Jr. was in the first wave of American troops to touch shore. “There was no enemy fire as we came in from the transport ship” (11 miles offshore), the twice-wounded Norwalk veteran said this week. “They waited until we were in the water and wading in. “We got off about 100 yards out in water up to our waists. They started firing, cutting us down. We were scared, really scared, but we had to get to the beach and knock out the guns. It came in a crossfire of machine guns. I saw water kicking up in front of us, and the group ahead of me walked into it and all of a sudden, the men dropped. “I caught what was happening. We were never told about this in training, but the Germans had set their gun sights on prearranged points, and you had to walk into the pattern to be hit. I called to my men to stop and wait for the pauses between bursts of fire and then dash across the point, and we’d make it. The Germans had to reload and let their guns cool, and there were five to 10-second gaps in the fire.” Company H, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, of the First Army, moved swiftly to the first line of 35-foot-high gradually doped dirt mounds marking the inner edge of their section of Omaha Beach. The 24-year-old sergeant and three others from his platoon and two other squads survived heavy mortar and artillery fire barriers and pushed past barbed wire barriers a quarter mile before they fell asleep of exhaustion the first night. “The next morning at dawn, I heard voices talking nearby,” he said. “Two German soldiers were the other ade of the hedgerow. I just stuck the barrel of my gun through, and they had had enough. They were confused.” Depending upon conditions, German prisoners would be sent back to England “if they were lucky,” Silk said. “Sometimes we did the same as Germans did to us. They were taken to the rear, and sometimes, you’d hear shots back there. No one in my platoon ever did it. My men didn’t have the heart. Sometimes, I would point to a German and shout: “There’s a German!’ They wouldn’t fire. “Very seldom do you see the enemy and have a direct chance to shoot him,” Sak said. Only once in five months at the front did Slik actually see a man fall after he had fired a round, and only once, when his platoon was cut off from its company and a whole German company came toward them, did they have a chance to see the results of their firing. “We set up the machine gun, but after one round, it froze up. Most of the time, it was calling in the mortar or artillery fire that did the job,” he said. Nevertheless, Silk managed to earn a Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Quster for courageous and meritorious actions involving the capture of two machine gun crews and two rescues of wounded comrades under perilous fire. He also has the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Unit Citation, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and several battle stars. When he left the 29th Infantry Division, two-thirds of its 15,000 men had been killed or wounded. The Norwalk native made it through France and into Belgium until near Thanksgiving of 1944, when a mortar round took most of his left thigh. “They wanted to amputate at first, but after several skin grafts, they saved it,” he said. He lost 60 pounds during the series of operations over a five-month period, and the doctors said he’d have trouble walking the rest of his life. But he bought two dogs and began exercising them and himself, and then took up horseback riding. “Within a year, I was running faster than before the war,” he said. The 74-year-old retired plumbing contractor and resident of 1A Merrill Road walks with a cane now, not because of the wounded left thigh, but because of the injury to his right knee suffered playing football for the Lone Star, Blue Ribbons, and Pastime Athletic Club teams.
From The Norwalk Hour June 15, 1999
John J. Silk Jr., 79, of Norwalk and Jensen Beach, Florida, husband of Jean Thompson Silk, died Saturday at home. Born in Norwalk on August 12, 1919, the son of the late John J. Silk Sr. and the late Nellie McDonald Silk. He was the owner and president of Silk Plumbing & Heating from 1951 until his retirement in 1982. Mr. Silk was a US Army Veteran of WW II serving with Company H, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division of the First Army, and was among the first wave of troops that went ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Before being seriously wounded, Mr. Silk earned a Silver Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for courageous and meritorious actions. He was also awarded The Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. He was an avid boater fisherman, a member of the Shore & Country Club of Norwalk, a member of the Disabled American Veterans. The AMVETS, and the AARP. In addition to his wife of 50 years, he is survived by 2 sons – John J. Silk III, of Bridgeport, Scott T. Silk, and daughter-in-law Linda M. Silk of Norwalk; a grandson, Ronald S. Silk; a granddaughter, Karen E. Silk; a niece – Donna Silk Scherr, a grandniece, and 2 great nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, James F. Silk. Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. in the Magner Funeral Home, 12 Mott Ave. Burial will follow in St. John Cemetery with Military Honors. Friends may call at the funeral home on Tuesday from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Babies Alumni Association of The Norwalk Hospital, Maple St, Norwalk, CT 06850.
Buried in St. John’s Cemetery, 223 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut; Section and plot number are unknown. Photo from FindAGrave.com.
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