Dennis L. Peterson, my friend since his childhood, has published a book titled Dillon’s War. It recounts the war experiences of his uncle, Dillon Summers, a long-time resident of Heiskell. Upon his return from World War II, Mr. Summers was a letter carrier and later postmaster in Heiskell.
As Dennis tells the story: When World War II erupted, Summers was inducted into the U.S. Army, where he was trained as a driver. He ultimately became a tank driver for artillery forward observers of the 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 3rd Armored Division.
Hazel Peterson with brother Dillon Summers on the cover of Dennis Peterson’s new book
State-side training took Summers from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, to Camp Polk, Louisiana; the Desert Training Center in California and Arizona; Camp Pickett, Virginia; Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania; and Camp Kilmer, N.J., before embarkation for Europe.
After further training in England, the 391st landed on Omaha Beach about two weeks after the June 6, 1944, invasion and immediately went into action against the German defenders.
Following a month of slow progress in the bocage (hedgerow) country of Normandy, U.S. forces broke through the Germans’ main line of defense and began chasing them from France. The 3rd Armored Division was in the forefront of the operation and became known as the Spearhead. Summers and the forward observers were the tip of the spear.
Using photos, letters and V-mails that Summers wrote to his family, and his units’ histories, Peterson traces his uncle’s path through France and Belgium into Germany and describes the numerous battles fought and the conditions under which the soldiers lived.
Summers is mentioned several times in the unit histories of the 3rd Armored, the 391st Battalion, and A Battery of the 391st. He was wounded when the tank he was driving was hit by German artillery and set afire. He also won two Bronze Stars, one for repairing his tank’s radio while under intense fire.
Like many veterans of the war, Summers never spoke afterward of his war experiences. Peterson, however, uncovered possible reasons for his uncle’s reticence. One major reason was his unit’s liberation of the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp and V-2 rocket factory near Nordhausen, Germany.
Dillon Summers was the brother of the author’s mother, Hazel Summers Peterson, a member of the Halls High School class of 1946.
Dillon’s War is the latest of Peterson’s growing list of books:
- Confederate Cabinet Departments and Secretaries
- Combat! Lessons on Spiritual Warfare from Military History
- Christ in Camp and Combat: Religious Work in the Confederate Armies and
- Evangelism and Expulsion: Missionary Work among the Cherokees until Removal
- Teaching: Essays in Christian education
Peterson’s new book is available in both paperback and ebook versions at Amazon.com. More information about Peterson, his books and his weekly blog may be found at https://dennislpeterson.com. He may be contacted by email at dlpauthor@gmail.com.