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| Lt. James Harley was killed a month before these men from his 175th Infantry Regiment visited an American grave in France. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8622374/james-william-hartley https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/538672805423620330/ |
James William Hartley never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 28, 1918 in Texas. His parents James and Pernie were also both born in Texas. His father worked as a linen supply truck driver. James had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. By 1940 James had completed three years of high school. He was still living at home and worked as a salesman for a grocery store. He had just completed a stint in the army that had began in 1936. He married Carol Gene Helfenstine in 1940 and they had one daughter.
He joined the army for a second time on February 11, 1941. He became a first lieutenant in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division.
The 175th IR landed on Omaha Beach on D+1. With the beach secured, Lt. Hartley unit moved on to fight the Germans in the Normandy hedgerows to advance to the city of St. Lo.
Lt. Hartley was killed on June 25, 1944 while the 29th ID was in a defensive position preparing to support a future attack on St. Lo.
His grave is at Oakwood Cemetery in Denison, Texas. His widow remarried and died in 1991.
Last year on this date I profiled Farnham Flower who served in a P-51 unit in Europe. You can read about Farnham here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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