As a member of "the greatest generation," Harold served in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign as a Corporal in the US Army from January 1943 to January 1946. He was an Antiaircraft Range Section Non-Commissioned Officer (in charge of a six-man Bofors 40mm antiaircraft gun crew) assigned to the 199th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. (The 199th AAA AW Bn was in turn attached to the 68th AAA Brigade). Of a total of 29 months in the Pacific, roughly 24 were spent in combat. He initially saw action late in 1943 defending against nightly bombing raids on Guadalcanal; and then spent 14 months on Bougainville where he was similarly engaged in anti-aircraft defense. He was also assigned to a ridge-top position on the defensive perimeter near the axis of a determined Japanese counterattack in March of 1944. His unit then went on to help oust the Japanese from the Philippines until the war ended.
Harold left little record of his wartime experiences, but there is no doubt that what he must have endured during the five days & nights of repeated assaults near his position by an estimated 5,000 Japanese would not be equaled until his brother Bill was similarly obliged to fight off an entire regiment of Chinese with only a company of men during the Korean War.
During the period 8-13 March, the 37th Division (to which Harold's gun crew was temporarily assigned) lost five officers and seventy-three enlisted men killed. Although the exact number of Japanese casualties suffered during the battle are unknown, an estimated 2,000 or more men of the Iwasa unit were killed during their repeated assaults near Harold's position on Hill 700.
After the war, Harold completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation & Management at the University of North Carolina (one of the few universities which offered such a program at the time). He married and returned to his beloved hills of eastern Kentucky where he and Lois raised nine children. Harold enjoyed a long career with the Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources until retiring in 1986 due to an ever-worsening hearing loss which had been brought on by damage suffered during the war.
Among the many notable achievements during his career, he was instrumental in re-introducing white-tailed deer and wild turkey to eastern Kentucky. He also became an author of some renown - writing several articles for Happy Hunting Ground, Field & Stream, and an ongoing column titled 'The Outdoor Almanac' for the Licking Valley Courier. He also left an enduring & much appreciated legacy in his early genealogical research and preservation of much family history and lore.
Harold left little record of his wartime experiences, but there is no doubt that what he must have endured during the five days & nights of repeated assaults near his position by an estimated 5,000 Japanese would not be equaled until his brother Bill was similarly obliged to fight off an entire regiment of Chinese with only a company of men during the Korean War.
During the period 8-13 March, the 37th Division (to which Harold's gun crew was temporarily assigned) lost five officers and seventy-three enlisted men killed. Although the exact number of Japanese casualties suffered during the battle are unknown, an estimated 2,000 or more men of the Iwasa unit were killed during their repeated assaults near Harold's position on Hill 700.
After the war, Harold completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation & Management at the University of North Carolina (one of the few universities which offered such a program at the time). He married and returned to his beloved hills of eastern Kentucky where he and Lois raised nine children. Harold enjoyed a long career with the Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources until retiring in 1986 due to an ever-worsening hearing loss which had been brought on by damage suffered during the war.
Among the many notable achievements during his career, he was instrumental in re-introducing white-tailed deer and wild turkey to eastern Kentucky. He also became an author of some renown - writing several articles for Happy Hunting Ground, Field & Stream, and an ongoing column titled 'The Outdoor Almanac' for the Licking Valley Courier. He also left an enduring & much appreciated legacy in his early genealogical research and preservation of much family history and lore.
As a member of "the greatest generation," Harold served in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign as a Corporal in the US Army from January 1943 to January 1946. He was an Antiaircraft Range Section Non-Commissioned Officer (in charge of a six-man Bofors 40mm antiaircraft gun crew) assigned to the 199th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. (The 199th AAA AW Bn was in turn attached to the 68th AAA Brigade). Of a total of 29 months in the Pacific, roughly 24 were spent in combat. He initially saw action late in 1943 defending against nightly bombing raids on Guadalcanal; and then spent 14 months on Bougainville where he was similarly engaged in anti-aircraft defense. He was also assigned to a ridge-top position on the defensive perimeter near the axis of a determined Japanese counterattack in March of 1944. His unit then went on to help oust the Japanese from the Philippines until the war ended.
Harold left little record of his wartime experiences, but there is no doubt that what he must have endured during the five days & nights of repeated assaults near his position by an estimated 5,000 Japanese would not be equaled until his brother Bill was similarly obliged to fight off an entire regiment of Chinese with only a company of men during the Korean War.
During the period 8-13 March, the 37th Division (to which Harold's gun crew was temporarily assigned) lost five officers and seventy-three enlisted men killed. Although the exact number of Japanese casualties suffered during the battle are unknown, an estimated 2,000 or more men of the Iwasa unit were killed during their repeated assaults near Harold's position on Hill 700.
After the war, Harold completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation & Management at the University of North Carolina (one of the few universities which offered such a program at the time). He married and returned to his beloved hills of eastern Kentucky where he and Lois raised nine children. Harold enjoyed a long career with the Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources until retiring in 1986 due to an ever-worsening hearing loss which had been brought on by damage suffered during the war.
Among the many notable achievements during his career, he was instrumental in re-introducing white-tailed deer and wild turkey to eastern Kentucky. He also became an author of some renown - writing several articles for Happy Hunting Ground, Field & Stream, and an ongoing column titled 'The Outdoor Almanac' for the Licking Valley Courier. He also left an enduring & much appreciated legacy in his early genealogical research and preservation of much family history and lore.
Harold left little record of his wartime experiences, but there is no doubt that what he must have endured during the five days & nights of repeated assaults near his position by an estimated 5,000 Japanese would not be equaled until his brother Bill was similarly obliged to fight off an entire regiment of Chinese with only a company of men during the Korean War.
During the period 8-13 March, the 37th Division (to which Harold's gun crew was temporarily assigned) lost five officers and seventy-three enlisted men killed. Although the exact number of Japanese casualties suffered during the battle are unknown, an estimated 2,000 or more men of the Iwasa unit were killed during their repeated assaults near Harold's position on Hill 700.
After the war, Harold completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation & Management at the University of North Carolina (one of the few universities which offered such a program at the time). He married and returned to his beloved hills of eastern Kentucky where he and Lois raised nine children. Harold enjoyed a long career with the Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources until retiring in 1986 due to an ever-worsening hearing loss which had been brought on by damage suffered during the war.
Among the many notable achievements during his career, he was instrumental in re-introducing white-tailed deer and wild turkey to eastern Kentucky. He also became an author of some renown - writing several articles for Happy Hunting Ground, Field & Stream, and an ongoing column titled 'The Outdoor Almanac' for the Licking Valley Courier. He also left an enduring & much appreciated legacy in his early genealogical research and preservation of much family history and lore.
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