Douglas Dickerson

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 5, 1920, Douglas Farnum "Curly" Dickerson (1920-2011) and his family moved frequently before they finally settled in Greensboro in 1929. Dickerson developed an affinity for athletics early in his youth and was an active member in the local chapter of the Knothole Gang, a youth baseball organization. He attended Greensboro Senior High School (later Grimsley) from 1936 to 1939. The recipient of an athletic scholarship to North Carolina State College (later NC State University), Dickerson played quarterback on the college football team and outfield on the college baseball team. He attended North Carolina State College from 1939 until he was drafted in early 1942.

Shortly after enlisting in the United States Army, Dickerson volunteered to join the paratroops of the 82nd Airborne Division and took basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Two months after being assigned to Ft. Lewis, he volunteered to join a specialized commando unit within the 82nd Airborne and was transferred to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for jump school. Dickerson and his 30-man "hit squad," as he referred to them, shipped out of the United States and saw their first active combat in Sicily in 1943.

Douglas "Curly" Dickerson landed in Normandy along with a team of 40 82nd Airborne paratroopers at 9:30 the night before D-Day. They hunted down a mobile radio unit, he recalls, stabbing the German soldiers to death. They then fought off counter attacks through the night.

Often operating behind enemy lines, the "hit squad" participated in six major campaigns across Europe, including Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Holland, Belgium (Battle of the Bulge), and Germany, spending a total of 371 days in and out of combat. A former quarterback at North Carolina State University, Dickerson was part of a team of commandos made up of ex-athletes. He was one of only four from the team to survive parachute jumps into Italy, Normandy and later Holland.

After the war, Dickerson returned to Greensboro and resumed his education at Guilford College and then High Point College (later High Point University), from which he graduated in 1949 with a teaching certificate in Social Studies and Physical Education. Following a short career as an educator, Dickerson joined the United States Postal Service in 1952 and had a 32-year career as a postman. Among his many personal accomplishments, he was immensely proud of his role as a coach for local athletic teams. Originally an assistant coach for Guilford College and High Point College, he later coached teams at Liberty High School (1947-1949), Gibsonville High School (1949), and Notre Dame High School (1959-1962). Dickerson was also proud of leading several Little League baseball and football teams that included later prominent political figures Howard Coble and Erskine Bowles.

Dickerson was a long-time member of West Market Street (United) Methodist Church. In 1996, he turned the pool house behind his home into a "mini-museum" displaying memorabilia gathered during his time overseas and items donated by other veterans and their families. He operated the museum until 1998 when he donated much of his collection to the Greensboro Historical Museum. Also in 1998, Dickerson published his wartime memoirs, Doing My Duty, in which he vividly described his wartime exploits.

Douglas F. Dickerson died on May 25, 2011 in Greensboro, N.C. at age 91, and is buried in Green Hill Cemetery.