Harry R. Crouch This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Newspaper online, The South County Chronicle, Virginia, Lorton, Mason Neck, Fairfax Station, South Springfield, Clifton, Newington

   www.south-county.info/articles - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/1/2004   Last Visited: 9/1/2004

   Harry R. Crouch: Clifton's war hero
   ...
   Harry R. Crouch: Clifton's war hero
   
   Harry Crouch with his wife Nena at their home in Clifton.
   ...
   Harry Crouch was born in Clifton on June 6, 1921, and has lived in the same location all his life. He attended the "Crouch Schoolhouse" named for his grandfather's land donation to the school. He attended Fairfax High School for one year before dropping out to help his father on the family farm. Every Saturday he sold eggs, chicken, and farm produce at "5th and K" in Washington, D.C.
   
   He met Nena Byrnes two and a half weeks after the United States entered World War II. They were married on August 27, 1942, so they recently celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary. One year after their wedding, he was "called to service" at Richmond.
   
   He came home to Clifton and Nena for one night in May 1945, before leaving for England. He was assigned to the 90th division of General George Patton's Third Army. On June 5, 1945, he and thousands of other young Americans were loaded onto ships for the short journey across the choppy waters of the English Channel. As his landing craft approached the Normandy beaches "the shells came in so thick and hard, the boat had to pull back."
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   Crouch remembers Patton acquired sheets and underwear for camouflage.
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   Forcing back tears, Crouch describes the day Japan surrendered following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as "the happiest day of my life." He had been offered $500 to stay in the army and $300 if he chose to leave. He laughingly says the discharge was the easiest decision he ever had to make.
   
   For fifty years he did not talk about the war. When his granddaughter wrote a story about him and used his scrapbooks as a resource, he began sharing his wartime experiences. In April 2001, he received a certificate from the government of France, inscribed to the "American veterans of the Second World War who liberated France and changed the history of the 20th century." In November 2002, he was awarded the "World War II Veteran Honorary High School Diploma" by the state of Virginia. In March 2004, he was awarded a plaque and "chest badge" from the liberated French town of Saint Lo to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Private Harry Crouch is justifiably proud of his service to his country and Clifton is proud of him. He says that when he recently spoke to a group of schoolchildren at Fairfax Station, "even generals stood up and saluted me."
   ...
   Harry R. Crouch: Clifton's war hero
   
   Harry Crouch was born in Clifton on June 6, 1921, and has lived in the same location all his life. He attended the "Crouch Schoolhouse" named for his grandfather's land donation to the school. He attended Fairfax High School for one year before dropping out to help his father on the family farm. Every Saturday he sold eggs, chicken, and farm produce at "5th and K" in Washington, D.C.