Harold Stanley Harris

Corporal

United States Army

Harold Stanley Harris, son of Henry and Elizabeth Powell Harris, was born in Burlington, Iowa on 14 September 1924.  He was a member of the Woodlawn Baptist Church.

A member of the Burlington High School football and track teams, Harold graduated from the high school in June 1943. 

He enlisted in the United States Army one week after graduating from high school.  A medic, Harold left for the European Theater of Operations in January 1944 where he was assigned to the 10th Medical Detachment, 10th Mountain Division. 

After marching 32 miles during a 24-hour period, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry arrived at Bastiglia, Italy at 8:30 a.m. on 22 April 1945.  The Company rested south of town.  About 2 p.m., as the men were finishing their C-rations and preparing to load on trucks for the shuttle movement to the Po River, four heavy German shells screamed near the Company Command Post.  The third round hit the corner of the Command Post building, striking a crowd of men coming out of the house into the courtyard.  Eight members from Company C were killed, including Harold. 

Harold was engaged to Betty Ralston, the daughter of Joseph Ralston.

Harold was survived by his parents; and four brothers, Charles with the Army in Germany, Thomas with the Army in Italy, and Robert and George at home.

Corporal Harold Stanley Harris, United States Army, is buried in the Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy.  A memorial marker is in Burlington’s Memorial Park Cemetery.

Among his awards and decorations is the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Source of information:

1.  The Burlington Hawk-eye Gazette, 14 May 1945, page 2.

2.  Des Moines County Iowa Veterans Buried with Markers, compiled by the Des Moines County Genealogical Society, 1984.

3.  National World War II Memorial veteran’s registry; http://www.wwiimemorial.com

4.  Letter from Mrs. Jane Harris dated 31 May 2005.  Jane is Harold’s sister-in-law.

5.  1941 Pathfinder Yearbook, Burlington High School, page 52.

6.  History of the 87th Mountain Infantry in Italy by Captain George F. Earle, 1945, pages 134, 178, and 180 (http://10thmtndivassoc.org/87thhistory.pdf).

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