Edgar Hayden Dale II was born on April 23, 1914, in Coffeyville, Montgomery County, Kansas. He was the son of Edgar Hayden Dale and Letha Gragg Dale. He was married to Amelia Hughes Dale. He received his early education in Coffeyville and later attended Stanton Preparatory School in Cornwall, New York, to prepare for entry into the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in June 1938, he was assigned to the 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts) at Fort William McKinley in the Philippine Islands for a two-year tour, which he extended by nine months out of his fondness for the Islands.

When war broke out in December 1941, Captain Dale was stationed at Camp O’Donnell, Tarlac, and fought throughout the Battle of Bataan until the surrender in April 1942. Initially reported missing in action, he was later confirmed as a prisoner of war in the Philippines. Captured following the surrender, Dale was imprisoned in several Japanese POW camps, where he endured severe beatings, malnutrition, and disease. His selfless act of shielding another prisoner from a beating left him gravely injured, weakening him against malaria and dysentery. He was later transported on a “Hell Ship” to Japan, where he died at the Osaka POW Camp on February 16, 1943. He is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org