Joseph Semmes Van Dyke was born at Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan on February 7, 1921. His parents were Frank George Van Dyke (1 Mar 1884 – 13 Jan 1959), who was born at Detroit, Michigan; and Katherine B. (Semmes) Van Dyke (2 May 1895 – 3 Jan 1942), who was born at Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. His parents married at Shelby County, Tennessee in October 1917. His siblings were George S Van Dyke (25 Jun 1918 – 5 Jun 1970), Mary Katherine Van Dyke (abt Sep 1919 – unk), and Francis Van Dyke (27 Sep 1931 – 28 Sep 1931). In 1940 the family lived at 915 Fischer Avenue in Detroit. His father had varied occupations, including real estate broker and pharmaceutical manufacturer. In 1942 his father worked as a welder in the Detroit Navy Yards. By 1944 his father lived at 1175 Hibbard Street in Detroit.

He completed four years of high school, and registered for the draft at Dade County, Florida on February 14, 1942. He was 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed 175 pounds, and had blue eyes and blonde hair. He worked as an office clerk and was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Detroit, Michigan on April 28, 1942.

He completed Army Air Forces pilot training in Class 43-G, and received his wings and commission on July 28, 1943. He went on to a period of Transition training in the B-24 'Liberator' heavy bomber in order to qualify as pilot in command for that aircraft type. He was assigned a crew, and by December 1943 began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field near Tucson, Arizona.

In January 1944 the Van Dyke crew was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 41-28822 from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived at Lavenham by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

Lt Van Dyke and his eight crewmates were killed in action on June 23, 1944, when their aircraft, B-24H 41-28822, was shot down near Brussels, Belgium after bombing an airfield at Juvincourt, France. The aircraft was hit by flak in the open bomb bay and exploded in the air. It fell in pieces in the meadow of Scheutbos near the intersection of Kasterlindenstraat (Rue Kasterninden) and Palokestraat (Rue Paloke).

He was buried initially at Evere Cemetery in Brussels, Belgium. After the war his remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium.

B-24H 41-28822 crew:
• Van Dyke, Joseph S – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Thies, Merle J – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Zebora, Rudolph J – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Kraus, Leslie E – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Glenn, James R – Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Crossley, Charles H – S/Sgt – Top Turret – KIA
• Spindler, William H – Sgt – Tail Turret – KIA
• Rupe, Bradford A – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Snead, John E – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com