Worcester, PA WW II Memorial
This is the last installment on Worcester’s War Monuments and those that made the ultimate sacrifice. The individuals listed below all had ties to Worcester and are highlighted on the monument by a star. Some were here for generations and others were just passing through. We have done our best to be as detailed as possible concerning these individuals; some we were able to speak to their relatives whereas others were more difficult to trace. We hope this stimulates discussion and we sincerely hope that if there are individuals with knowledge of the deceased that they will come forward and supply us details to provide a more worthy acknowledgment of their ultimate sacrifice. Please feel free to use our FB page to provide comments.
Andrew D. Bean, Pvt. First Class, 1919- June 6, 1944.
Buried: Normandy American Cemetery, Coleville-sur-Mer, France
Andrew was born in Worcester, son of Mose K. and Eva Bean. His parents are buried at Central Schwenkfelder. At age 16, in the 1935 census, he was living on Skippack Pike and working in a brickyard. Later he was employed by the Franklin Tile plant in Lansdale. He attended Worcester School. He was with the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division when he was killed on D-Day. His brother, Paul Bean, was serving in the Navy off England at the same time.
Robert G. Kline, Pvt., 1919 – March 31, 1945
Buried: Netherlands American Cemetery, Margarten, Netherlands
Robert was born in Virginia and moved to Worcester to live with his sister, Katharine Kline Snarr, around 1935. He was a trained machinist and worked for Turbo Machine Co. in Lansdale. He registered for the draft in 1940 and was later inducted into the Army. He was with the 9th armored division at the time of his death. Note the day of his death was towards the very end of the war in Europe.
Malcolm Schweiker, Lt. Army, 1922 – April 12, 1945
Buried: Garden of Memories, Central Schwenkfelder Church.
Lt. Schweiker is one of the most documented soldiers from Worcester. Son of Malcolm A. Schweiker, whose name appears on the WW I monument above his brother Roy, the family was very well known in Worcester as business owners and for their philanthropy. The Schweiker’s were founding members of the Worcester Historical Society in 1977. Malcolm, Jr. was educated at Valley Forge Military Academy and matriculated at Rutgers with a degree in ceramic engineering. He was interested in Scouting and was the second known Eagle Scout from Worcester. He was commissioned at Fort Bragg and was an instructor at Fort Benning. His brother, Richard, also served in the Navy and was later elected to the US congress.
Lt. Schweiker was killed on Okinawa while serving with the 184th Infantry Regiment, 7th Division.
Raymond Walker, Navy Seaman First Class, 1919 – June 19, 1945
Buried: Mainland Lutheran Cemetery 1950 (Remains sent from France).
Born in 1919 to Benjamin Walker and Lilian Mercer Walker, Raymond lived on Homsher’s Road in Worcester. In the 1940 census he was working as a” shovel” operator at Whitehall Road where there was a large quarry. He was married with two children. We were not able to locate his war or school records. He was not killed in combat. He survived the war and was waiting on the docks at the Port of Le Havre to return to the US when he was killed by a drunk truck driver. We want to thank his nephew, William Walker, member of the Worcester Historical Society for this information.
Arthur H. Wartman, Jr., 2nd Lt., US Army Air Force, 1918 – April 13, 1944
Buried: Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Arnoult, France
Arthur served as a Second Lieutenant & Co-Pilot on a B24 H Bomber, 727th Bomber Squadron, 451st Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided on Berks Road prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on June 10, 1941 in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. He was noted at the time of his enlistment as being employed as a salesperson and also as being single, without dependents.
The B-24H Bomber took off from Castelluccio, Italy on a bombing mission over Budapest, Hungary. After completing the mission, they were attacked and shot down by a German Fighter aircraft and crashed in Hungary.
Hilden Tyson, 1st Lieutenant, US Army Air Force, 1920 – Dec 23, 1944
Buried: Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg
Hilden Tyson was the son of Harold B. and Marian Tyson. A 1937 graduate of Norristown High School, he worked as a printer in Norristown while living on Mill Road in Collegeville (Worcester). He enlisted in the service in 1942. He was married to Anna Tyson at the time of his deployment. He was with the 36th Squadron, 316th Troop Carrier Group based in England. On December 23, 1944 he was part of a resupply mission for US troops under stress at the Battle of the Bulge. He and his crew were last seen hit by anti-aircraft fire over Bastogne after dropping their supply load.
George F. Steyer, Cpl., Army, 1921 – Feb 24, 1944
Buried: Wentz’s Church
George Styer was born in Worcester, was baptized at Wentz’s Church, graduated from Worcester School in 1937, and attended Norristown High School. He enlisted in the National Guard on December 8, 1941 following the bombing of Pearl harbor. He enlisted in the Army June 1942. His occupation was listed as mechanic and motor vehicle repairman. According to the Montgomery Transcript: “He was serving with the mechanics on an amphibious landing truck. He saw action in North Africa and Sicily before the invasion of Italy. He was killed at Anzio on Feb 24, 1944.”
The Transcript further states, “He was one of six members of the Styer family now serving in the Army force: two sisters are Army nurses, and two brothers and a brother-in-law are with the Army.”
George is buried next to his parents at Wentz’s Church. One thing remains a mystery: his name is not on the WW II plaque despite living most of his life in Worcester. If anyone can explain this anomaly, we would be very interested in learning about it.