James Francis Hoyt Sr. was born on May 16, 1925, in Oxford, Johnson County, Iowa. He was the son of Ambrose John Hoyt and Ellen Regina "Nelle" Barry Hoyt. He was married to Doris Marie Hipp Hoyt. He served in the 6th Armored Division as a Private First Class during World War II.

On April 11, 1945, PFC Hoyt was driving an armored scout car that broke away from the main column near Hottelstedt after the soldiers encountered fleeing prisoners and abandoned SS guards. Alongside his commanding officer, Frederic, TSgt Gottschalk, and Sgt Ward, Hoyt followed former inmates who led them south toward what they described as a large prison camp. The small detachment reached the northern fence of the Buchenwald concentration camp, where the guards had already fled. While Frederic and Gottshalk entered the camp through a breach in the barbed wire, Hoyt remained with the vehicle, witnessing the unfolding liberation as thousands of prisoners emerged, emaciated, desperate, and overwhelmed by the arrival of American soldiers. Supplies were handed out, urgent radio calls were made for medical aid and food, and contact was established with the camp’s underground leadership. Once their immediate mission was complete, Hoyt and his comrades rejoined the main force, having played a direct role in the first moments of Buchenwald’s liberation.

After returning home from the war, he spoke little about his experiences and resumed a quiet life in Oxford, Iowa, where he worked as a postal carrier. In later years, he began sharing his wartime memories with University of Iowa journalism professor Stephen Bloom, whose forthcoming book The Oxford Project documents in detail what Hoyt witnessed at Buchenwald. Hoyt lived with post-traumatic stress disorder for 63 years after the war and attended weekly group therapy sessions.

PFC Hoyt died on August 11, 2008, and is now buried in the Mount Calvary Cemetery, Oxford, Johnson County, Iowa, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com