Late October 1944,
the division found itself on the Dutch-Belgian
border and preparing for their initiation into
combat.
The circumstances of his
death are not known. One source states that on
the 23rd of October, a patrol of the 414th was
ambushed with several men killed and wounded. Lt
Balk might have been wounded and taken prisoner,
after which he died on either 26 or 27 October.
Another source states that
on October 25th, the troops of the 414th Infantry
Regiment had dug in and were preparing for
the night when word came that they were to
attack some woods that had reportedly been
vacated by German forces. The attack would begin
just before midnight. It was a dark night and,
because of their lack of experience, the men
crossing a sugar beet field did so with
considerable noise. The enemy, which was
supposed to have withdrawn, opened up with
machine guns. Flares lit up the whole area.
There was some consternation as the
unexperienced and tired troops waited for orders. Those right in
front of the enemy machine guns, fought back any
way they could, but the ones behind them could
not fire out of fear of hitting their own.
Lt. Sommerville,
the company commander, was killed and the men
remained were they lay, waiting for
instructions. No one apparently took over
command. Later the order to withdraw was given.
After retreating about a quarter mile the troops
set up a defense perimeter. The Germans knew
were the Americans had dug in and zeroed in on
them. The troops were hit by machine gun and
rifle fire and grenades. Casualties were heavy.
2Lt. Balk might have been one of those killed.
Lt. Balk was first buried
at the Roman Catholic cemetery in Terheijden.
Later he was interred at Margraten. The fact
that Lt Balk was first buried at a cemetery in
Terheijden and died on either 26 or 27 October,
gives more credibility to the source that states
he was taken prisoner. Terheijden is a town
north of Breda which was still in German hands
at the time. The 104th Infantry Division fought
a hard battle to cross the closeby Mark river in
early November, a week after Lt Balk had died
and was buried.
Another indication that Lt.
Balk died while in German captivity is that the
book "Timberwolf Tracks", the official history
of the 104th Infantry Division in World War 2
which was published in 1946, listed him as
Missing In Action. His body was not officially
recovered till 1947.
The descrepancy in his date
of death lies in the fact that his grave reads
that he was killed or died on 26 October 1944.
However, a local document, made up in 1947 when
his body was recovered from the cemetery in
Terheijden states he died on 27 October.
2Lt. Byron Balk
is buried at Margraten American Military
Cemetery, Plot K Row 11
Grave 16.
(picture courtesy
of Mrs. Joan Anton via WWII Memorial)
