PART ONE:
This is a special treat. Here are some selected images from the personal photograph album of Captain Donald Amos Warner, Jr. ’42, of Mercedes, Texas. The album shows MMI in 1940-1942 and includes some images of Warner as he finished MMI cadet flight training (Selma airport) and infantry officer training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and, later, as the captain of Co. A, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in World War II (European Theatre).
Captain Warner’s unit, the “Double Deucers” of the 4th Infantry Division, assaulted Utah Beach on D-Day during the Normandy Invasion. They sustained some 2,000 casualties during the first three weeks of the operation. The famed 22nd Infantry fought its way through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. Captain Warner was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Purple Heart (he was wounded twice), among other U.S. and foreign decorations.
Cadet Captain Donald A. Warner, Jr., MMI Class of 1942
Dress parade at MMI.
Cadet Company Guidons.
Cadet Captain Warner of “B” Company and Sponsor Ann Hutchins (his sweetheart from Judson College and his future wife, I believe).
Don and Ann at Judson College.
Government Inspection at MMI.
The end of the parade.
The Colors go by.
Second Lieutenant Warner completed a school for company commanders at Fort Benning, Georgia, prior to shipping overseas. He apparently also completed 60 hours of flight training in a PT-17 for possible missions in Europe!
2LT Warner at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Captain Warner of Co. A, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, near the Hurtgen Forest, December 1944.
Captain Warner in Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge.
