Dan Webster was born August 30, 1918 in Fisher, IL to Daniel H. Webster and Grace Camden Webster. They called him "Ted" after Teddy Roosevelt. He was the middle child of three with an older sister, Vivian, and a younger brother, Clyde.

His family resided in Fisher, where he graduated from Fisher Community High School. The yearbook refers to him as "Nifty". A friend said they called him that because of the way he dressed. According to his senior annual, he was a member of the softball and basketball teams and he took part in the senior play. In addition, many of the sketches in the annual were done by him. After high school, he graduated from Illinois Business College and became a bookkeeper for the Farm Bureau Storage plant in Champaign, IL.

March 5, 1941 he enlisted in the army and was a SGT in Co L, 354 Infantry, 89th Division. He was sent to Camp Forrest, TN. While stationed there he met Martha "Irene" Lee and married her May 10, 1942. Immediately thereafter, he was sent to Camp Carson, CO. During the time they were at Camp Carson, I was born - Theresa "Terry" - July, 1943. In November 1943, he was sent to England where he took part in the preparation for D Day. According to a small notebook he kept, he was in the 4th wave that landed on Omaha beach June 6, 1944 (D-DAY). He was awarded the Bronze Star "For heroic achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy on 6 June, 1944".

During the next 3 months, his company moved across France, into Belgium and entered Germany on September 12, 1944. He was killed by enemy fire on this day. They buried him at the US Military Cemetery #1 in Fosse, Belgium. In 1948, he was returned to the states for burial in his family plot at Willowbrook Cemetery in Fisher, IL.

After his death, my mother returned to her family in Mississippi. Soon after that she decided to go to school in Memphis. She remarried in 1949 and had three more children. Mother made every effort to make sure I stayed in touch with my father's family, even though they lived some distance away. However, there was not much mention of my father. It seems everyone was afraid to open the hurt that was just under the surface. When he was mentioned though, it was always with love.

My mother kept all of the letters my father wrote while overseas as well as those items that were sent to her after his death. These items were passed on to me when she died in 1991. They included the little notebook he had with him when they landed on Omaha Beach; his cigarette case and lighter; and his ring as well as other personal effects. These are all very special mementoes of his life, but in no way can they replace the empty spot that has always been in my heart.

In his memory and with deep gratitude to all who have served.