WWII vet receives posthumous degree

ST. MARYS - A high school diploma was posthumously awarded during Wednesday's St. Marys school board meeting to St. Marys native Nick D. Doseck, a decorated World War II veteran, who left the school at age 16.

Doseck, who born Feb. 18, 1923, was raised by German immigrant parents and spoke fluent German until he learned to speak English in school. He left school to work on his family farm, and in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, according to information provided by the school.

In October 1944, Doseck entered combat near the German-Belgian border, where his company participated in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, one of the fiercest of World War II. In December 1944, he and his comrades were near Ardennes Forest when the Germans launched a massive offensive to push the allies off the European continent. Not only did he and his companions manage to stop the advance, but in early 1945, they began an advance into Germany.

According to information provided by the school, Doseck and his comrades encountered the horrible smells emanating from the Nordhausen Concentration Camp, a sub-camp of the Dachau Concentration Camp. Doseck reportedly carried a picture given to him by a comrade of the bodies seen at that camp, so he would never forget the atrocities committed there.

In March 1945, he helped lead his men in the liberation of the village of Inden, Germany.

Near the end of the war, he was named a hero when he and his men captured a German sniper. Doseck reportedly later learned the sniper had killed his best friend, "a friend who Nick shed tears over late into his life."

Doseck was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the WWII Victory Medal and the French Legion of Honor, the highest military honor given in France.

Superintendent Bill Ruane said Wednesday that Doseck was the inaugural inductee for military service into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame.

Doseck, who passed away Oct. 27, 2019, has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren still in the area, some of whom are in the school system.

In other business, Ruane said the pedestrian bridge project, which involved the construction of a bridge across U.S. 33, will go out for bids today. The bridge will be built offsite after the work contract is awarded, with a goal to have it in place for fall 2022.

Board members also,

• were reminded of a finance work session scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 3 in the food science classroom.

• approved a $40,000 agreement with the Jackson Center Schools Board of Education to provide hearing impaired services.