Dalton James Dixon

Staff Sergeant Dalton James Dixon was killed in action on July 9, 1944 in France during World War II.  He was 23 years old.

Dalton James Dixon was born on May 10, 1921 in Vance County, North Carolina, the son of James S. Dixon and Lula Bradford Dixon.  He graduated from Henderson High School in 1940 and was employed at Rawles’ Grocery before entering the U.S. Army in October 1942.

SSgt Dixon served with the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Division which had been ordered into active military service on August 15, 1942.  SSgt trained with the Division at Camp Atterbury, Indiana until it was ordered overseas on April 6, 1944.

The 83rd Division arrived in England on April 16, 1944 with its first divisional headquarters at Keele Hall in Staffordshire. After training in Wales, the division, taking part in the Allied invasion of Normandy, landed at Omaha Beach, on June 18, 1944, and entered the hedgerow fighting south of Carentan, France on June 27.

On the morning of July 4, 1944, the 331st Infantry moved into position along the front line south of the village of Meautis in the hedgerows of Normandy. To the south of them, the crack German paratroopers of the 6th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment were well dug in and waiting on the other side of a swamp. The Regiment’s assault that day failed to dislodge the Germans and achieved an advance of only 650 yards.  Intense fighting continued with slow progress in the following days.  SSgt Dixon was killed in action on July 9, 1944.

Staff Sergeant Dalton James Dixon is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Henderson, North Carolina.

Last edited: 13 May 2026