Recently, we were given a nostalgic photograph taking us back to 1943. In the photo, a young serviceman, a Dragon Cement Company employee, unveiled a ceremonial plague at the Dragon plant in Northampton’s first ward. A few buildings of the landmark plant still stand behind the Siegfried Railroad Station.

The serviceman, Mr. August Serensits Jr., was the grandfather of Jerry Serensits, Northampton Borough’s zoning officer. Jerry shared the photograph and his grandfather’s World War II service record. This is the story of a young man who survived a crucial battle in France in 1944.

August Serensits Jr. was born in 1919 at the family’s Newport and Stewart streets home in Northampton. He was the oldest of 16 children. After the war, the family would move to the corner of Ninth Street and Dewey Avenue in Northampton. August Jr. attended Northampton High School but left school to help support the family. This was the 1930s! The United States faced the Great Depression, and jobs were difficult to find. At the height of the Depression, unemployment reached 25%.

August’s father was also a Dragon Cement employee. In 1941, after Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II. August Jr. was one of the first men to be drafted from his Newport neighborhood. The draft board was located on Main Street, Northampton, at the former Allen Trust Bank, later home to Veterans of Foreign War Post 4714. Old-timers recall when draftees boarded trains at the Central Railroad Station and the Siegfried Railroad Station when they left to serve the nation.

After passing his physical test, August Jr. was sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. The camp was later renamed Camp Polk. August Jr. was assigned to the U.S. Army Armored 83rd Reconnaissance Battalion to be trained in tank warfare.

August Jr. also received advanced tank warfare training at California Desert Center and Camp Pickett, now known as Fort Barfoot. August Jr.’s battalion participated in intensive training exercises. A young man from Northampton was now a new member of a five-man tank crew! The unit was sent to England. Well trained, they would see action in either Europe or the sands of North Africa.

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In two weeks, we’re off to Saint-Lo.