Remembering Local World War II Heroes: Thomas Duval, Donald Gates, Donald Hebert

ASHBURNHAM — Flags dot the cemeteries where many U.S. soldiers are buried. They are mute reminders of heroes who served their country, many of them paying the ultimate price by losing their lives while in battle.

Flat stones bearing the name, rank and military affiliations often do not tell the complete story. There are some lives that bear a closer look, and ones that reveal unique footnotes.

For instance, this segment concerns three local soldiers from Ashburnham: one who was an only child, one who died on his birthday, and one who left a year-old son who never got the chance to know his heroic father.

This is the continuation of the series Remembering Local World War II Heroes.

Pvt. Thomas W. Duval (1921-1943)

Thomas Warren Duval was born on Sept. 16, 1921, in South Ashburnham, the only child of Amedee Maxime and Irene (LaFreniere) Duval of Cross Street.

He was educated in the local public schools and graduated from Fitchburg High School. He was employed as a cabinet maker by W.F. Whitney Co. Inc. on Center Street in South Ashburnham. A member of the Ashburnham company of the Massachusetts State National Guard, he enlisted on Nov. 20, 1942, became a radio operator in the infantry and was sent overseas to Europe in April of 1943.

On Oct. 20, 1943, Mr. and Mrs. Duval received a letter from their son stating that he was in good health in Italy and that the Italians were treating the U.S. troops well. He had not seen his parents in more than a year.

Tragically, less than a week later, Duval was killed in action on Oct. 26, 1943, in Italy. His parents received a telegram on Nov. 15, 1943, from the War Department stating that he had been killed. He had just turned 22 and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Ironically, his father had recently been awarded a Purple Heart for being wounded in World War I — he had been an Army corporal in the 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.

Thomas Duval was buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Lazio, Italy.

Seaman 2nd Class Donald A. Gates (1924-1942)

Donald Arthur Gates was born on Aug. 9, 1924, in Fitchburg, the son of Ellsworth Curtis and Pearl E. (Wares) Gates. In 1933, he moved with his family to Puffer Street in Ashburnham and attended schools there. He was later employed by W.N. Potter Grain Stores Inc. in Gardner prior to his enlistment in the Navy.

The day after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Gates enlisted in the Navy on Dec. 8, 1941. During eight months in the service, he saw action in the Coral Sea, Midway and the Solomon Islands.

On June 18, 1942, his parents received a card stating that he was in Honolulu.

In early August of 1942, he was aboard the USS Vincennes, which was sunk by the Japanese during the Battle of Savo Island. He was killed in an explosion and lost at sea. Ironically, his date of death was listed as Aug. 9, 1942, his 18th birthday.

Gates was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Certificate of Merit. He was also honored when the Ashburnham chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars was named the Donald A. Gates VFW.

Aside from his parents, he was survived by a brother, Pfc. Roger Gates, who at the time was serving with the U.S. Marines Corps in North Carolina; a sister, Louise Evelyn Bliss, whose husband was a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps; and a half-brother, Earl Chenard, who had been discharged after being wounded in North Africa.

Gates was listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

Sgt. Donald O. Hebert (1920-1944)

Donald Otis Hebert was born on July 2, 1920, to Joseph and Josephine M. (Rosbury) Hebert in Ashburnham.

He was employed by W.F. Whitney Co. Inc. in Ashburnham before entering the service in March of 1941. He received his first Army training at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod before being stationed at several southern camps. He was sent overseas early in the summer of 1944.

He married the former Dorothy Evelyn Brown and they lived at 66 North St. in Gardner, and later moved to Fitchburg. A son, Donald Jr., was born on July 8, 1943.

Hebert was reported missing in action while serving in France with the 382nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, on Nov. 9, 1944, in a telegram received by his wife. He had reportedly just been awarded a medal for bravery six weeks earlier.

“He was a sergeant and the cook of his outfit and had a bunch of men under him,” his son, Donald Jr. of Fitchburg, said, noting the outfit loaded six trucks with hot food to bring to the front line. “All the soldiers on the front line had been eating K-rations for weeks. He wanted to give them all some nice hot food.”

Three weeks later, a second telegram stated that he had been killed in France on Nov. 9 during the Normandy invasion, the day he was initially reported missing.

“All six trucks took a direct hit from the Germans and blew them to smithereens,” Donald said, adding that the telegram stated his 24-year-old father served “above and beyond the call of duty.”

Besides his wife, son and parents, he was survived by three sisters, Agnes, Dorothy and Arlene Hebert of Ashburnham; and three brothers, Raymond, who had been in action in North Africa, and Peter and Verne of Ashburnham would also enter the service.

Hebert’s remains were buried in Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy, beneath a white cross with his name on it.

“The general contacted my mother and said they could send him back and bury him over here if she wanted to, but they weren’t even sure the remains were his,” Donald said. “He took a direct hit and the dog tags were blown off.”

Donald Jr., who will turn 79 next month, noted that his mother filled him in about his father “as soon as I was able to understand, maybe about 7 or 8 years old,” he said. “She passed to me some of his gear: his gas mask, gun, a couple of his uniforms, and his cookbook.”

His mother, Dorothy, remarried six years later with George Landry from Gardner, who treated Donald like his own son. She and George later divorced after 15 years, and she remarried with Joseph Muzarol who died in 1972. Dorothy died in 2003 and Landry in 2019 at the age of 97.

Donald Jr. noted he was exempt from serving in later wars because he was the family’s sole survivor and his mother’s only child. He retired in 2008 after 30 years as a security officer from the Nashoba Medical Center in Ayer.

“I still have his Purple Heart with his name printed on the back,” he said proudly. “Donald O. Hebert, the same as mine.”

Comments and suggestions for Remembering Local World War II Heroes can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing to Mike Richard, 92 Boardley Road, Sandwich, MA 02563.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Local World War II Heroes: Thomas Duval, Donald Gates, Donald Hebert