Local soldier was among those killed on D-Day 82 years ago today

(PENNTOWN, Ind.) – A local soldier was among those who gave their lives during the D-Day Invasion 82 years ago today. 

Allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 and began the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe.

While D-Day contributed to the U.S. victory in World War II, that historic day led to thousands of Americans being killed on the shores of France.

Herbert Hornberger

26-year-old Herbert Hornberger was a Penntown native who was working at Kile’s Motor Express before he enlisted in the Army in 1942. 

He was part of an amphibious tank crew that was tasked with landing on Omaha Beach to support the 1st Infantry Division. 

The tank was possibly struck by a torpedo and sank in the ocean.

News traveled much slower back in those days. He had been reported missing for months before his parents received a telegram from the War Department on October 24, 1944 confirming that their only son had been fatally wounded.

“The report from the German Government through the International Red Cross contained only the fact that he died and his body was recovered,” historical records indicate. 

T/Sgt. Hornberger was first buried in a military ceremony in France, however, was brought home to his final resting place at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Penntown in 1949. 

There are now two grave markers honoring Hornberger at that Penntown cemetery.