On November 30, 1917 Army Pvt. Michael Dina became the thirteenth American soldier killed in action in World War I in the Battle of Cambrai in northern France. For the past four years his great nephew Charlie Alonge, of Marlboro, has worked tirelessly to have his uncle’s sacrifice recognized and finally last November, after 104 years, Alonge received Pvt. Dina’s Purple Heart. As if by divine providence, Alonge received the medal by FedEx special delivery on Veterans Day, November 11 at 11:11 a.m., the exact day and time when the Armistice was signed in Compiegne, France in 1918 that ended ‘The Great War’. Included in a later package was a Silver Star and a WW I medal with a clasp in honor of Michael Dina.

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving in the military, on or after April 5, 1917. The original Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, was established in 1782 by George Washington, then the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army by an order from his Newburgh headquarters.

After basic training in New Jersey, Michael Dina became part of Company F of the 11th Engineers Regiment that consisted of 1,400 volunteers from New York, many of whom were railway workers. The Regiment was shipped overseas and landed in France in August 1917. They were initially sent to Gouzeacourt in the very north of the country where they worked to improve railway facilities and later worked nearby in the Cambrai area. On November 30, 1917 Dina’s unit came under attack from German Storm Troopers (Sturmtruppen) while the unit only had spades, pick axes and other hand tools to defend themselves. Dina was one of 17 American soldiers killed in the Battle of Cambrai on that November day. The 11th Engineers Regiment became known as the ‘First To Fight’ as they indeed were the first unit of Americans to engage in battle in the opening days of World War I.

Initially, Dina’s body was reported missing but about a week later was recovered and he was laid to rest in the Somme American Cemetery in Bony, France. His parents were notified of their son’s death by mail from General John J. Pershing at their Manhattan home near Washington Square Park.

“My paternal grandmother never talked about him and nobody ever talked about him,” Alonge said. “So I took his name down to the Purple Heart Hall (New Windsor) and ran his name through the computer.” At that point Alonge discovered that he was killed in action in 1917.

During his search for additional information, Alonge had difficulty obtaining records from that time period, as many simply went missing or had been destroyed in the intervening years.

“I called all over and many records were burnt and all this stuff but I did all this research and found all these papers,” he said.

Alonge was finally successful after sending a copy of a file on his great uncle to Army Sgt. 1st Class Rynaldo R. McRae of the Awards and Decorations Branch of the Department of the Army at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. In his letter Alonge said he is a member of the Veteran’s advocacy organization Rolling Thunder, adding that, “I am the last in the family that would like to have his Purple Heart of Honor as a family heirloom. I have three sons and five grandchildren and I’m teaching them the importance of duty to country, flag and honor. I am hoping somebody will help me and my family with this. I have enclosed all the notarized documents, including family history, proving relationship. I believe this will be a great part of my family’s history. Thank you for your consideration on this important matter.”

Because of his work with Veterans, Alonge knows the meaning behind a Purple Heart.

“It’s somebody that went out of their way and made the ultimate sacrifice and never came home,” he said. “It’s just something that I had to do for my great uncle, had to do it for my grandmother, and that is what drove me.”

Upon receiving the medals Alonge said, “I was kind of happy but with tears. Like I said, I didn’t know nothing about him and now we know about him. Even though he is buried and memorialized in France, I feel that he is finally home with us.”