Three Delawareans who were drafted on the same day trained together and joined the same medical battalion but only two returned home alive

Three Delawareans who were drafted on the same day trained together and joined the same medical battalion but only two returned home alive
A C-47 copilot who survived the dangerous first American airborne combat mission only to die in a crash weeks later
Wounded and captured before he was rescued during combat at the Gustav Line in Italy, this young officer returned to duty just in time to join the breakout from Anzio
An Army Air Forces armorer killed in a tragic accident at an airfield in Sardinia
A German-born career soldier killed in action fighting against Vichy French forces in Algeria
A soldier born in Bridgeville who served in Italy in a segregated infantry unit
A plumber/pipefitter turned Army Air Forces firefighter caught up in a tragic accident at an airfield in Italy
William J. Harden c. 1943 (Courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives) ResidencesCivilian OccupationBorn in Maryland, raised in DelawareStudentBranchService NumbersU.S. Army Air ForcesEnlisted 12054590 / Officer O-681855TheaterUnitMediterranean737th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 454th Bombardment Group (Heavy)AwardsCampaigns/BattlesAir Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Purple HeartEuropean strategic bombing campaign Early Life & Family William Joseph Harden was born in Westernport, …
Continue reading 2nd Lieutenant William J. Harden (1921–1944)
A pharmacist from New York fatally injured in an accident shortly before he was to return home
A nurse destined to become the only servicewoman from Delaware to die overseas during World War II