HOPEDALE, March 16 [1945] - Pfc. Harry Wales Kimball, 23, previously listed as missing in action in Germany Feb. 26, was killed in action on that date, according to a telegram from the War Department received late last night by his wife, Mrs. Marjorie O'Neil Kimball. The telegram notifying his wife that he was missing was received Monday.
Pvt. Kimball, the eighth local man to give his life in the present war, was born in this town, the son of Mrs. Esther Kimball Armitage and the late Clifford Kimball. He graduated from the high school and before induction July 18, 1944, was employed by the Draper Corporation. Following six months training he went overseas. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias.
In addition to his wife and year old son, Paul Harry Kimball, survivors are his mother, three brothers, Lee, of Mendon, Pfc. Stephen, in Germany, William, of Hopedale, a sister, Mrs. Shirley Nixon, and a step-sister, Martha Armitage, both of Hopedale, and a grandmother, Mrs. Jennie Knights, of South Hopedale. Milford Daily News
Harry Kimball was one of the men included in a Milford Daily News article written at the time of the dedication of the War Veterans' Memorial at the Hopedale Village Cemetery. It reads as follows:
The family of Harry W. Kimball also plans to be in attendance for the occasion.
Harry Kimball was the son of the late Esther (Knights) Kimball and Clifton Kimball, and he attended Hopedale schools. He was married to the former Marjorie O'Neil, who was a Hopedale resident. The couple were the parents of an infant son, Paul, when Kimball was drafted on July 18, 1944.
Harry was killed in combat seven months later, on Feb. 26, 1945 in the European Theater of Operations
His wife learned of his death via a telegram that declared him dead. This communication came a day after Mrs. Kimball had received a telegram saying Harry was listed as "missing in action."
The day that the first telegram arrived, Mrs. Kimball had taken the couple's son, Paul, who had attained his first birthday, to have a picture taken. It was to have been sent to his dad.
Kimball is buried in Margarten, Holland. His two brothers, who were both veterans of the European battlefront, visited Harry's grave in Holland before they returned home following WWII.
Kimball's son, Paul, is now a resident of Palmdale, California. Visitors to the South Hopedale Cemetery will find that there is a bronze plaque at the Kimball family plot which bears Harry's name, rank and unit. The family has placed this plaque on the plot, although Harry is not buried there. Milford Daily News, November 9, 1994.
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