Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Harold Ford

WWII | 232nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division

In the fight to retake Gambsheim, Harold Ford first had to dodge some friendly fire, then had to hide from some German tanks. With two others from his mortar squad, he hunkered down with some wounded GI's and a dozen French civilians in the cellar of a train station. They hid for hours, but, eventually, there came a sound from the top of the stairs. (7:03)
He had frozen feet and pneumonia and now he was a POW. Harold Ford recovered in two German hospitals and was sent to a camp, where he was well treated by the guards, but at the mercy of a brutal system. (4:15)
The building was big and old and cold. The coal ration for the week lasted about thirty minutes and POW Harold Ford spent a lot of time in his bunk under a blanket. When the front approached the camp, he joined a long column of prisoners marching southward. (4:22)
It was April of 1945 and thousands of American POW's were on the march as their German captors made them move in advance of the approaching front. The guards began deserting and Harold Ford was free on the road, but he went into the camp in Munich because there was food in there. Then, one day, came the sound of American machine guns. (5:12)
When Patton's army liberated the prison camp in Munich, the feeling for Harold Ford was indescribable. He had only been a prisoner for a few months, but he had dwindled to about a hundred pounds. He began to make up for this on the trip home. (4:48)
He had been a POW in Germany, but after returning home, Harold Ford was still on active duty. After an interesting interlude as an MP, he got orders to prepare to go to the Pacific. Apparently, the Japanese heard that he was coming and promptly surrendered. (5:47)
Harold Gibbens

WWII | 262nd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division

Harold Gibbens got involved with the Army Specialized Training Program and was working on an engineering degree when the Army decided it needed infantry more than engineers. So he was off to join the 66th Division and prepare for an Atlantic crossing. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:16)
There were two ships ferrying troops from Southampton to Cherbourg. Harold Gibbens heard an explosion and looked to see the other ship, the SS Leopoldville, all lit up. A German torpedo had found it's mark. That disaster would affect the deployment of his division in the European campaign. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (5:52)
Harold Hardin

WWII | USS Saturn (AF-40)

He was in Naval ROTC at Georgia Tech and was told to finish his studies, but the Navy decided he was needed in the war effort, so Harold Hardin went aboard the USS Saturn, a refrigerator ship, as one of five young ensigns. The Saturn plied the Atlantic waters, delivering food to bases and ships at sea. (This interview made possible with the support of LORETTA A. ANGERER.) (6:54)
While his ship was docked in France, General George Patton came aboard and Lt. Harold Hardin got to meet him. He asked the feared leader why he cursed at his troops. This led to an intense, private moment between the two. When he wasn't scolding generals, Hardin was gunnery officer on a supply ship, dodging submarines and delivering food around the Atlantic. (This interview made possible with the support of LORETTA A. ANGERER.) (4:53)