Harden, Frederick R.

FREDERICK ROSS HARDEN

PRIVATE 1st CLASS

U.S. ARMY

Frederick Ross Harden was born on April 30, 1923 to Morris Clyde and Edna Theresa Harden. He was born in Adams County. Fred had two older brothers, Paul and Warren, Paul was the oldest. Fred attended the Decatur Elementary School and went to Decatur High School. He was one semester of high school short of graduating. Fred worked at the Decatur Casting Company and attended Pleasant Grove United Brethren Church.

On February 17, 1943 Fred enlisted into the Army in Toledo, Ohio. He was five foot four inches and weighed one hundred twenty-two pounds when he enlisted. He trained at Camp Swift, Texas and Camp Forest, Tennessee. He would go on to earn the rank of Private First Class. PFC Harden was assigned as an infantryman with B Company, 13th Infantry Regiment of the Eighth Division. The Eighth Division was known as the "Golden Arrow" or "Pathfinder Division." It's motto is "These are my credentials." In December 1943 Fred was sent overseas and stationed in Northern Ireland and in Scotland where the troops were preparing for the Invasion of Europe. On July 4, 1944 the Eighth Division arrived on Utah Beach, Normandy. They joined combat on July 7, 1944. As the 8th Division pushed into France through the hedgerows, PFC Harden was killed by a sniper during the Battle of St-Lo. 

His division went on to continue the fight in France and then move on to the Rhineland. The Rhineland had been taken over by Germany since the beginning of the war. It was a critical area for the U.S. to take back because it pushed Germany back to Germany. The division also fought in the Ruhr Pocket. The victory was one of the largest turning points in the war because marked the end of major Nazi resistance on the western front. Nearly 300,000 German soldiers were taken prisoner. 

Upon word of his death, a memorial service was held in Decatur on Sunday October 8, 1944. When Private First Class Harden's remains were returned to the states, a funeral was held April 14, 1949 and the Decatur VFW and American Legion provided military last rites. PFC Harden is interred in Decatur Cemetery, Decatur Indiana with his parents and his brother Warren. 

For his service and sacrifice, PFC Harden earned the Purple Heart, American Campaign Medal, American Theatre Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. 

Information researched and collected by Connor Brite, 2015. 

SOURCES

Ravelings Yearbook Staff, ed. Ravelings Yearbook. Decatur, IN: Decatur High School, 1944. Print.

"Pfc. Fred R. Harden Killed In Action In French Invasion." Decatur Daily Democrat June 1944: Print

Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line].Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Introduction to the Holocaust.”Holocaust Encyclopedia. 9 December 2015.

Findagrave.com. Frederick Ross Harden. Findagrave.com. 6 December 2015. Web.

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