🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Honoring First Lieutenant Harry Welsh of Easy Company For His Services During WWII.
Harry Francis Welsh of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was 22 years old when he registered for service on October 16, 1940.
Initially, Harry was assigned to Fort Benning with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. While an enlisted man. His commanding officers saw his potential and recommended him for Officer Candidate School.
Welsh was transferred to the 101st Airborne, and was assigned to Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and quickly became friends with 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters.
Harry Welsh jumped into Normandy on D-Day and did not find Easy until the next morning, shortly before the company was given the task of taking Carentan. When he joined the rest of his company, he was placed in charge of 1st platoon after Richard Winters took charge of the company.
On June 12, 1944, he led his platoon on a direct assault into Carentan. He was pinned down until the rest of Easy Company moved into the town, and after taking the town, the Company moved against a German counterattack south of Omaha Beach.
His platoon held the line with Easy Company; during the Battle of Bloody Gulch, Welsh ran into an open field with an enlisted gunner, John McGrath, and knocked out a German armored vehicle, with a bazooka. Elements of the 2nd Armored Division arrived in force and drove off the remaining Germans.
After holding the line for another month, Welsh and the rest of Easy Company were relieved and shipped to England for refitting and replacements. He became Executive Officer of Easy Company.
On September 1944, Welsh dropped into the Netherlands for Operation Market Garden and remained there for the duration of the operation.
On December 16, 1944, German armored divisions broke through the American lines in the Ardennes Forest. At this point, Welsh had been reassigned to HQ Company of 2nd Battalion. His Division was then assigned to the defense of the town of Bastogne. During a battle on Christmas Day, Welsh was severely wounded.
Harry was awarded two Bronze Stars for valor during his combat action and two purple hearts for injury during combat. 1st Lt Harry Welsh returned to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and married Catherine Grogan on December 29, 1945. Kitty used Harry's reserved parachute as the fabric for her gown.
Harry retired from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District in 1983. He served both as a teacher and a Director of Pupils. Welsh died of heart failure on January 21, 1995, on his good friend Richard Winters' 77th birthday. Harry was 76 years old. First Lieutenant Harry Welsh of Easy Company lies in rest at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Hanover Township Pennsylvania. Lest We Forget.
♠️Photo from the Major Dick Winters Collection of the The Gettysburg Museum Of History
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