The Last Two Americans To Die In WWII

One in Europe and one in the Pacific

(Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1847922)

There is a first time for everything. But for every first time, there has to be a last time. The last person to eat at a failing restaurant. The last person to fire a musket in war. The last person to shut the lights off in a home.

The last to die during a war.

Large wars often leave thousands, or even millions, of deaths in their wake. But for all of the millions of people who have died in combat, for each war, there is someone who died last. One of the common refrains for soldiers fighting in what everyone knew was the final days of a war was that they didn’t want to be the last to die. The last person to die in war is a demarcation point that every combat soldier is aware of. Survive until the last death, and you won’t die. Not being the last casualty ensured that you would live to go home. Sadly, someone always has to be the last. While there are millions of young men who were relieved to hear that the final person had died, to those who almost made it to the end but perished, it is a sad fate.

These were the last two Americans to die in the major theaters of World War II.

Europe

(By Anonymous — https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55869619/charley-havlat , from family archives, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87888043)

Private First Class Charley Havlat is widely considered to be the last United States Army soldier to be killed in combat in Europe during World War II. It is a sad distinction, but someone always has to be last. Havlat was a part of the 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. He did not participate in D-Day, but he did enter mainland Europe by way of Omaha Beach. Havlat saw combat during the Battle of Aachen and the Battle of Hürtgen Forest before hunkering down during the Battle of Bulge. After the Battle of the Bulge, the 803rd rested and refit with new M36 tank destroyers. Then, they participated in the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket, which opened the way to Czechoslovakia.

On May 7th, 1945, Havlat was a part of a small recon force scouting the area around Volary in Czechoslovakia. They were searching out a small force of Germans that had been spotted in the area. During the search, the group came under…