Havlat, Charles (Charley)

Date of birth:: November 10th, 1910 (Pleasant Dale, Dorchester, Saline County, Nebraska, the United States of America)
Date of death:: May 7th, 1945 (near Volary, Czech Republic)
Buried on:: Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial
Plot: C. Row: 5. Grave: 75.
Nationality:: American

Biography

Charles (Charley) Havlat was born on November 10, 1910, in Pleasant Dale, Dorchester, Saline County, Nebraska, the United States of America. He was the eldest of six children of the Czech emigrant couple Anton M. Havlat and Antonia Nemec. Charley worked as a farm hand and, together with his cousin, had started a trucking company before being drafted.

Charley joined the military in February 1942 and was assigned to the Reconnaissance Company, 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. The unit trained at Fort Lewis, Washington, then at Camp Hood, Texas, where the unit received M-10 tank destroyers. Just before Christmas the Battalion moved to Camp Dix, New Jersey. Finally the unit would prepare for embarkation to Europa at Pine Camp, New York. Then in June 1943, his unit went onboard the Queen Mary to sail to England where it arrived on the 29th of the same month. The next year was filled with additional training and exercises in England, before eventually on June 13, 1944, they were shipped and landed at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. The 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion then took part in different battles in Normandy and Northern France, followed by the battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes-Alsace and then the Rhineland Campaign. At the end the unit was involved in clearing and securing Central Europe.

On the morning of May 7, 1945, two reconnaissance platoons were ordered to locate enemy positions northeast of the Czech town of Volary. Charley was part of one of these reconnaissance platoons. Around 08:20 hour, while traveling on a dirt road a few miles into Czechoslovakia, his platoon was ambushed by a unit of the German 11th Panzer Division. During the following fire fight, Charley was hit in the head by a sniper. He was instantly killed and was 34 years old. The fire fight stopped at 08:40 hour. The cease-fire agreement was already signed at 02:41 hour and would commence at 08:30 hour. Unfortunately the cease fire order was received 10 minutes too late by the 803rd Battalion in southeast Czechoslovakia. The German field commander would later testify that he received the cease-fire order at 09:00 hours.

Private First Class (PFC) Charles Havlat was the last confirmed American soldier who died in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) in World War II. Ironically, Havlat died while liberating the homeland of his parents. He was buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint-Avold, Departement de la Moselle, France in Plot C, Row 5, Grave 75. A monument dedicated to Charley Havlat is placed at Route 39, 38451, Volary, Jiho?eský kraj, Czech Republic. There is also a Historical marker dedicated to Charley in Dorchester, Nebraska, the United States.

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