European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 6, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse R april 1948 the stars and stripes Page 7 by Hal Boyle new York is a song that says old sol Diers never but they do and one of the toughest and bravest the american army Ever known bowed out this Ernie Deputy chief of the ground Only a Brief Story announced the retire a eat of this legend Ary soldiers Ufier 31 years in uni form and service in two world but As Long As deeds mean More the army will hold in a memory the fighting record of old gravel who fought More Battles irid killed More Ger mans than any other american tank officer in the second world a squint eyed rough talking and he was know to to officers under him As the Bull and hard boiled he Ernest Harmon kept them As nervous As Frog legs in frying but the enlisted men in his command liked him and thought it an Honor to fight under because he knew his Well As my Man when he wore All his Mored cornered Ger mans in the tunisian he led the same division at Cassino and spearheaded the breakout at the doughboy who survived Anzio should love him forever for insisting that tanks instead his Chest looked like a vegetable of infantry Lead the drive against Patch in but his wore of More medals and dec orations merely Index his Battle they dont reveal my for what he of the most unusual personalities of the Ernie landed under fire in Trench his 1st a the German fortified i lost 116 tanks the first Ernie said but within a week i had 70 Back in its easier to repair a tank than it is to bring half a Hundred doughboy Back to Harmon returned to America and was Given command of a 7l that would have led to his promotion to lieutenant Gen but Ernie stand the boredom of waiting at Home for a third he wrote Omar Bradley asking for another fighting and Bradley promptly flew him Over to command the 2nd a Mored in Harmon cracked through the Siegfried two months later he made a overnight March and smashed three German Panzer divisions at where he broke up the deepest nazi penetration in the Battle of the after the War ol8 gravel got that nickname because he talks in a rumbling growl like a Concrete mixer in Low the american constabulary in Ernie saw the horse give Way to the tank during his and the old replaced by the he sees More i saw the cavalry go out after the first world he told me and i think the last War was the Only one in which tanks will have played such a major now at Ernie is returning to civil As have Many Fine wartime division for All his medals and he ended the War at the same rank began major Congress somehow never got around afterwards to voting the promotion Little hell on wheels Harmon passed up rather than miss a but knowing in sure hed rather have the extra memories he has in his heart than one More shiny Star on his m a t ii at e m w kf4 it
