2LT Robert W. Lake
Today we honor and remember 2LT Robert W. Lake of the 101st Airborne Division
Second Lieutenant (2LT) Robert Wallace Lake of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), was born in Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, to Robert E. and Florence L. (Wallace) Lake on March 21, 1914. He had one sister, Dorothy M. Lake.
Robert graduated from William Penn High School in Harrisburg. After graduating, he worked for the Harrisburg Steel Corporation, which forged iron and steel products for industry.
Robert signed up for the draft at Harrisburg, Dauphine County, on October 16, 1940, and he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Harrisburg on May 29, 1942. His initial training took place at Camp Wheeler, Georgia.
At the end of July 1942, Robert won the Army’s Sharpshooter Medal for outstanding marksmanship. He then had additional training at Camp Robinson, Arkansas; Camp Edwards, Massachusetts; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Camp Mackall, North Carolina.
Robert was commissioned upon his graduation from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning. After traveling overseas to England in November 1943, he trained paratroopers for their participation in the D-Day invasion.
During his stateside training, Robert was in a relationship with Anna Romain Allen. They had a son, Robert Allen Lake, born on October 27, 1943, but apparently, the couple never married.
LT Lake jumped into Normandy with Charlie Company, 502nd, and according to a Harrisburg newspaper, he wiped out a machine gun nest of Germans single-handedly on D-Day.
On September 17, 1944, he would make his second combat jump into the Netherlands, as part of Operation Market Garden. The 1st Battalion was ordered to take St. Oedenrode, and they succeeded. By the end of the day, a perimeter defense was established at the northern edges of the town.
Six days later, on September 23, two battalions of the 502nd PIR, including Charlie Company, were directed to lead an assault on Schijndel.
The attack started along the road leading into Schijndel. 3rd Platoon of Charlie Company was tasked with clearing the grounds of a monastery located on the east side of the road, along with a thick wooded area to the north of it. During this attack, LT Lake was wounded by machine gun fire as he took shelter in a ditch up front on the right side of the road, close to the south part of the monastery. He would succumb to his wounds later that day.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
On September 23, 1944, LT Robert Lake died at the age of 30, leaving behind his young son, parents, and his sister. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal.
After his initial burial in the temporary Military Cemetery of Son, the Netherlands, at Plot A, Row 6, Grave 108, he was later reburied at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, at Plot B, Row 4, Grave 2. May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Robert.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
The sources used for this article are known to the author and available on request.
Robert,you fought for our Freedom and in that matter you succeed!
Living in Freedom is for me daily,and I never had the chance to say thank you to you and your fellow soldiers!
That's why I became a adopter on the American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten,The Netherlands!
You rest also there in Peace,and I will visiting your grave soon,I'll promise!
Thank You for Your Service,I never will forget your sacrifice! 🫡🇺🇸🫡