While more than 500 ballplayers have lost their lives in military service not all have been isolated incidents. On a number of occasions, a military baseball team, usually in transit from one place to another, has suffered fatalities. Here is the fourth of a seven part series describing some of these tragedies.
Army Truck Hits Train in Belgium - 1945
Following the German surrender in May 1945, military baseball teams travelled across Europe entertaining troops. It was while traveling with the Army team near Brussels in Belgium that tragedy struck. The ball team was riding in the back of an Army truck when it struck a train. Among the injured was former minor league outfielder Sgt. Eugene L. Dellinger. Dellinger was badly burned and evacuated to the Veterans Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was transferred to the Northington General Hospital before succumbing to his injuries on January 31, 1946.
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