Veteran-led Honor Guard Ceremony Held Today to Honor WWII Vet Who Died Recently
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A veteran-led honor guard ceremony will be held on Friday, August 30 to honor Don Harms. The ceremony will take place at the Veterans Memorial building in Fortuna at 1pm.
Harms, who passed away recently, at the age of 105, was drafted into the US Army at the age of 21, and fought in some of the fiercest battles of World War II.
He served as a machine gunner in the 35th Infantry Division and later as a Staff Sergeant in D Company of the 5th Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
In June 1944, while attached with the 75th Ranger Regiment landed on Omaha Beach and fought in the Battle of Normandy.
Harms and his unit were also involved in the Battle of the Bulge.
For his service in the military, Harms earned the Ranger tab, a Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf clusters, a Purple Heart, the combat infantry badge, and service and campaign ribbons.
Don Harms recently. [All photos provided]
Earlier: 104-Year-Old Survivor of the D-Day Invasion Honored
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Hero.
Some of the best men ever born.
Thank you for your service Mr Harms!
Bone Spurs wouldn’t have stopped him! Probably the least of his ailments!
Bone spurs and cowardice. Both are still evident.
Not the time and place for your political foolish rhetoric
We’re honoring a World War 2 veteran, and you dare to display your chronic TDS. Disgusting and pathetic.
Let me guess…Trumpster!?
The most pathetic and disgusting aspect of respecting veterans and those currently serving is how the former Commander in Chief (45) treats them! Fact
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There’s a museum in bastogne dedicated to the men that fought. I belive it was a 2 to 1 fight.750,000 nazi troops escorted by tanks. And 350,000 American and allied troops. They fought in snow without proper gear. I did some research during covid. One of my grandpa’s was there. They parachuted in the night before the invasion at Normandy. Fought there way back to the beach then headed to bastogne. Aka the battle of the bulge.
The battle to relieve Bastogne is the most legendary battle of small units in the history of WW II. Colonel Creigton Abrams led the first elements of 4th Armored to reach the city December 26, 1944 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Even now our best and most potent armored vehicle carries his name
The German offensive began on 16 December. Although outnumbered, the regiments of the 28th Infantry Division delayed the German advance towards Bastogne, allowing American units, including the 101st Airborne Division, to reach Bastogne before the German forces surrounded the town and isolated it on 20 December. Until 23 December, the weather prevented Allied aircraft from attempting to resupply Bastogne or from performing ground attack missions against German forces. The siege was lifted on 26 December, when a spearhead of the 4th Armored Division and other elements of General George Patton‘s Third Army opened a corridor to Bastogne.
Good for your Grandpa – the defense of Bastogne was truly heroic.
But the Siege of Bastogne wasn’t the Battle of the Bulge although it was a critical part of the larger battle.
The Americans at Bastogne were running short on food, ammo and medical supplies but the German demand for surrender was famously rejected by the one word reply “Nuts!”.
The Greatest Generation!
Another hero from the greatest generation .RIP Mr Harms