Pvt. John Harden Missing in Italy
Tipton – Pvt. John E. Harden has been reported missing in action in Italy since Jan. 30, according to a war department message received by his father, Henry C. Harden, of west of Tipton.
Pvt. Harden entered the army Feb. 12, 1943, and went overseas last September after spending a brief furlough at his home. He served in the North African and Sicilian campaigns and in a letter received by his father under date of Jan. 18 he told of having volunteered to join the Rangers.
Two brothers of the missing soldier are in the army, Pvt. Francis L. Harden is in New Guinea and Staff Sgt. Kenneth C. Harden is somewhere in the European theater. Their mother is dead.
Source: The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Sun., March 19, 1944, pg. 25
John Edward Harden was born Apr. 20, 1922 to Henry C. and Clara A. Schoening Harden. He died Apr. 26, 2013 and is buried in Honey Grove Cemetery, Cedar County, IA.
Cpl. Harden served with the U.S. Army in World War II and was a POW. He received the Purple Heart.
Source: ancestry.com (submitted by WWII researcher, Pat Holt Juon, Mar 2024)
