Henry Brooks Bast was born December 17, 1918 in Easton, Pennsylvania to Walter F. Bast (1886-1965) and Blanche Krantz (1886-1962). His parents were married in 1909 in New Jersey. His dad was from New Jersey and his mom from Pennsylvania. His dad worked at Standard Silk in Phillipsburg, New Jersey and the family moved to Chadwicks, NY when Henry was young. His dad worked at the Standard Silk mill in Chadwicks. (Today Donovan Memorial Park sits at the site of the mill). The 1940 US Census recorded the family living in New Hartford, NY (same as Chadwicks) and recording that his dad, his mom, and he all worked at Standard Silk. His older brother Clark (who also died in World War II) was also living at home and working for a local trucking company.

Henry attended Chadwicks schools and graduated in 1936 (date hard to read in news clip). He then graduated from the Utica School of Commerce. He was a member of St. George's Church. He played baseball while in school. He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940 in Albany, NY. He was 5'-9" tall and weighed 175 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. He was living on Hamilton St. in Albany, NY at the time and reported working at the F.W. Woolworths on North Pearl St. in Albany. He was the assistant manager there.

He entered the service in March 1942 and was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was selected to attend Officers Training School at Fort Benning, Georgia and received his commission on November 9, 1942 and given service number O-1298982. He was assigned to the 415th Infantry Regiment that was being formed at Camp Adair, Oregon. While there he married Dolores Ann O'Brien on April 26, 1943 in Portland, Oregon. They have a son together, John who was born in January 1944 in Buffalo, NY. Dolores lived with the Bast family at 21 Elm Street in Chadwicks in May 1945. She moved back to Buffalo after the war and then to Canastota, NH where she was a beloved art teacher. She passes in Myrtle Beach in 1993.

In November 1943, Company F's Morning Reports from the California-Arizona Maneuver Area listed him as a 2nd Lt. In March 1944 the whole Division moved to Camp Carson, Colorado. Just after this move he got a leave for 15 days (See Morning Report of March 27, 1944). In August 1944 The Timberwolves packed up and moved by train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, New York for embarking to Europe aboard the USAT Cristobal. They arrived off Utah Beach, Normandy, France on September 7, 1944 and landed on French soil the next day. On September 24, Company F was part of a group moved to Surdon, France and later, on October 10, the entire Division was moved near Carterei for inspection and last minute preparations for combat. From there they moved by train to Belgium and the war.

In early November 1944 the 104th Infantry Division was part of a coordinated drive to the Mark River at Standdarbuiten in Holland. On November 2, 1944 Lt. Bast was killed in the fighting to established a bridgehead across the Mark. His Individual Deceased Personnel File reported his cause of death as "KIA shell w direct" and that he was buried in the Henri Chapelle #1 Cemetery Plot R, Row 4, Grave 61 four days later. He had $8 to his name at the time of his death. His Company's Morning Report for November 4, 1944 from Regimental Command Post in Ougenbosch, Holland listed him from "dy to KIA in Holland" (duty to killed in action).

The family requested that his body and all his belongings be returned home at the same time as his brother Clark's body. In March 1948 his body is escorted home aboard the USAT Robert F. Burns and buried along with his brother in Eastern Heights Cemetery, Easton, Penn.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

"Bast – O'Brien", wedding announcement, Buffalo Courier-Express, May 6, 1943, pg. 14.

"Battle of the Mark River Crossing", Combat History, 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division, Colonel John Hamilton Cochran, Commanding Officer, accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/402181, on November 21, 2025, pg. 9 – 13.

"Chadwicks Officer Killed During Action in Holland", Utica Observer-Dispatch, Utica, NY, November 29, 1944, pg. 4,

Desert Training Center, Wikipedia entry, accessed on November 21, 2025 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Training_Center

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58981989/henry_brooks-bast: accessed November 20, 2025), memorial page for Lieut Henry Brooks Bast (17 Dec 1918–2 Nov 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 58981989, citing Easton Cemetery, Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by TomKat (contributor 46805778).

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 04872; Reel: 151

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA: 314.6 T/O (European) Weekly Burial Reports 112: 1944; Report No.l 112: November 26, 1944;Record Group 92;Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General;Series: General Correspondence Relating to Organizations; NAID: 28270480.

National Archives at St. Louis, MO, USA; Morning Reports for November 1944: Roll 265; Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; Series: Morning Reports; NAID: 575087289

New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services; Concord, NH, USA; New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1700-1969

New Hampshire Department of Health; Concord, New Hampshire; New Hampshire Divorce Certificates, 1850-1969

Oregon Center For Health Statistics; Portland, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Marriages, 1911-1945

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1950-2010; Series Number: Series 4

"Seniors Take Debate Honors at Chadwicks", Utica Observer-Dispatch, Utica, NY, February 24, 1936, pg. 26.

Sun-News; Publication Date: 30 May 1993; Publication Place: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/808567050/?article=8867a36a-c5c7-4c2c-a893-bf3567410803&focus=0.06702836,0.062312864,0.22168477,0.3187911&xid=3355

Year: 1940; Census Place: New Hartford, Oneida, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02700; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 33-40

Supporting Documents