B24429 Rifleman John Dyck was born in  Kitzkos Saporoshkago, Okruga, USSR (now in Ukraine) on 5 Oct 1922, the son of Isaac Dyck and Maria Rempel. He had four brothers and sisters: Molly, Marina, Isaac, and Private Jake Dyck. They lived in Russia (1922-1930), Saskatchewan (1930-1936) and Ontario (1936-1943) and left Hanley School in Saskatchewan aged 14. His family were members of the Church of England.

Dyck served under the National Resources Mobilization Act from 15 March 1943 to 19 September 1943.

Dyck worked as a roofer when he enlisted in Toronto, Ontario with the active service army on 20 September 1943. After training in Brantford, Camp Borden and Debert, Nova Scotia he arrived in the United Kingdom on 14 March 1944 and was assigned to a reinforcement unit. Dyck transferred to The Queen’s Own Rifles on 20 June 1944. He was injured accidentally by a gunshot wound to the left wrist on 29 Aug 1944 and sent to hospital in England but returned to the QOR on 8 November 1944.

Rifleman Dyck was killed in action in Germany on 3 March 1945, aged 22. His severely decomposed body was recovered in a German trench by the Regimental Chaplain on 23 April and was only identified by his identify tags. He is buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, grave reference XXI. D. 2.

His family provided the following epitaph for engraving on his grave marker:

YOUR PRESENCE EVER
NEAR, YOUR LOVE
REMAINS WITH US YET.
SADLY MISSED BY THE FAMILY