Harold Gess
- birth: ABOUT 1922; Boise Valley, Ada Co., Idaho
- death:
7 NOV 1944; Battle of Normandy
Father: Orville Clayton Gess
Mother: Bertha Irene Copley
- sex: M
- burial: Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium
- surname: Gess
- given name: Harold
- name prefix: Sgt.
Biography Notes...
@S09297@ Letter from the War Dept. dated Jan. 15, 1947, to Mrs. Betha I. Gess (Harold's mother). This is the original letter received by my grandmother advising her of the temporary resting place of her deceased son, Sgt. Harold W. Gess. The letter is signed, G.A. Horkan, Brigadier General, QMC. "Sgt. Harold Gess Dies In Holland"..., original newspaper clipping belonging to my great grandmother, Ella Rosetta Shawver Gess of Dairy, Oregon. The name of the newspaper and the date have been cut off. It reads: Sgt. Harold W. Gess, United States army, grandson of Mrs. Ella R. Gess of Dairy, has been killed in action in Holland, according to word received from the war department. His death occurred November 7, the message stated. Sgt. Gess had a twin brother, Gerald, now stationed at Camp Roberts, and another brother, Orville C. Gess, Jr., now somewhere in the Pacific." I have in my possession the original photograph of the U.S. Military Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium, where Harold Gess was placed to rest. I also had, but have since given to my brother, Patrick Clayton Gess, a very large, colored photograph of the same cemetery and a small snapshot of Harold's grave. The cemetery is painfully large. Each grave is surmounted by a white wooden cross. The cross bears the name of the soldier. At the base of each cross there's a small American flag. A beautiful monument casts a narrow shadow across an immaculately tended field of graves. Letter dated Dec. 15, 1995, The American Battle Monuments Commission, "Sgt. Gess is interred in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery as indicated in the above caption. Information concerning the cemetery may be found on the tabbed pages of the enclosed pamphlet. At the time of his death, November 07, 1944, SGT Gess was a member of the 38th Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division."
