PFC David Haber 29th Division
David Haber enlisted into the army in December 1942.
He was a member of the 29th Division,
175th Infantry Regiment throughout the war.
David landed on Omaha beach on the 7th June. The 175th were due to land on the 6th, but they were postponed due to the logistical issues that were occurring on the beach.
He was jeep driver attached to an Anti- Tank gun platoon.
He was a keen writer and took his leather writing portfolio with him where ever he went. He send over 500 letters and V-mails back home, his parents and sister kept all of them.
In his 1st letters to be written after D-Day he writes that he could never put into words what he had seen.
On August 8th whilst taking his Sgt to the front line near to Vire, they were shot at by a German sniper. His Sgt took a direct hit and was killed instantly and David’s leg was badly severed. He quickly used his belt to help stop the bleeding and he used his issue of morphine to dull the pain. He then crawled to find help.
He was evacuated back to the UK, and did not re-join his unit until late 1944.
David’s cousin Herman was a member of the 1st Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha beach with the 18th Infantry Division on D-Day. Please refer to Herman’s page to see some of his letters.
The Haber family were from Hartford Connecticut, and they owned a chain of bakeries in the area.
David died on Friday 12th February 1993.