| Sources |
- [S926] Find-A-Grave, (www.findagrave.com).
SSgt Harold John May
Birth: 28 Oct 1917 Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin, USA
Death: 10 Apr 1945 (aged 27) Nueva Vizcaya Province, Cagayan Valley, Philippines
Burial: Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines
Plot: Plot D Row 6 Grave 129
Memorial #: 56784059
Bio: Harold J. May (1917 Wisconsin), a resident of Racine, Wisconsin, enlisted as a Private in the Wisconsin National Guard - Infantry (S/N 20650055) on 15 October 1940 in Madison, Wisconsin. He was single, had completed 2 years of high school and had worked as ?Semiskilled mechanics and repairmen, motor vehicles?. Harold stood 71 inches tall and weighed 140 lbs.
He was assigned to Company G, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division (Red Arrow) and went overseas in 1942. Harold was awarded his first purple heart for wounds received at Buna, New Guinea in October 1942.
In the Philippines the 32D Division went ashore in the Mabilao area of the Lingayen Gulf beaches as part of the Luzon campaign. The Division?s zone of advance was to be in a northeasterly direction astride the Villa Verde Trail?.The trail leads from the Lingayen Gulf area over the Caraballo Mountains to the lush Cagayan Valley of northeast Luzon.
General Krueger, summed up the situation which the 32D faced: ?The enemy had made good use of the terrain which, with its sharp ridges and deep ravines, was ideally adapted for defense. He had dug innumerable caves, had provided defense positions on the reverse slopes of the ridges and had established excellent observation stations that permitted him to use his artillery to best advantage. Repeated personal observation convinced me that the advance along the Villa Verde Trail would prove to be costly and slow.
Staff Sergeant, Harold J. May (S/N 20650055) a member of Company G, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division was shot and killed by a Japanese machine gunner on 10 April 1945, on the Villa Verde Trail, near Salacsac Pass, Nueva Vizcaya Province, Luzon, Philippines. He was 27.
The 128th Infantry Regiment suffered 280 killed and 950 wounded during their operations to clear the Villa Verde Trail and adjacent terrain from 21 February ? 31 May 1945.
Harold has a cenotaph in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin (FaG Memorial# 112746162)
An arrow to the heart: New monument to 32nd stirs memories, pride.
RACINE COUNTY ? When 22-year-old Harold J. May, the eldest of eight siblings, signed up with the Wisconsin National Guard in 1940, he did so with an eye toward making some money for the family.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, he was called to war as a soldier in the 32nd ?Red Arrow? Division.
Harold was 27 when he was shot and killed by a Japanese machine gunner on April 10, 1945, during the battle to capture the Villa Verde Trail in the Philippines.
His family didn?t get the news until a month later. The war in Europe was already over and Harold?s brother Charlie May, who served in the war but not in the 32nd, was staying in a house with fellow American soldiers in Germany.
?I was called in to see the chaplain and he gave me the notice,? the 89-year-old recalled Wednesday. ?I cried all the way back. Some of my buddies said ?hi? to me and I couldn?t even answer them.?
The 32nd ?Red Arrow? Infantry Division and 32nd ?Red Arrow? Infantry Brigade Combat Team were honored Thursday evening with the unveiling of a new monument ? concrete pavers in the shape of a red arrow ? in front of City Hall, 730 Washington Ave. The monument has stirred memories for local people who served or had relatives who served in the division and combat team.
Heartache and pride
A beautifully hewn wooden box that Charlie made himself contains all of the items related to his big brother?s service in the 32nd.
The May 19, 1945, letter from the War Department informing their father of his son?s death, lays side-by-side with clippings his mother saved from The Journal Times regarding the division?s exploits. There is even a photo of Harold?s sweetheart at the time ? a girl named Mary ? and a rubber stamp Charlie?s mother made of Harold?s Army photo. Still stained with ink, it sits in the corner of the box.
The American flag his family was sent is framed along with a photo of Harold which sits between the two Purple Hearts he received, one for being wounded, another for giving his life.
Each item has its story, and on Wednesday Charlie told each one, especially the story of the silk wall hanging his mother received with four star patches, one for each son who served: Harold, Alfred, Floyd and Charles. Three of the stars are silver. Harold?s star is yellow and blue.
?Harold volunteered and the other three of us were drafted, bing, bing, bing,? said Charlie, who lives in Mount Pleasant.
Since Harold was the eldest, Charlie said he always looked up to him.
Gravesite Details Entered the service from Wisconsin.
Family Members
Parents
Henry John May 1891-1981
Marie Barbara Frey May 1897-1977
Siblings
Harold John May 1917-1945
Alfred Henry May 1919-1980
Florian Frank May 1921-2004
Charles Theodore May 1923-2018
Clarence May 1926-1930
Herman Joseph May 1928-2011
Dorothy Marie May 1930-2015
Kenneth John May 1936-2005
Maintained by: steve s (47126287)
Originally Created by: War Graves (6)
Added: 8 Aug 2010
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56784059/harold-john-may
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 08 February 2021), memorial page for SSgt Harold John May (28 Oct 1917?10 Apr 1945), Find a Grave Memorial no. 56784059, citing Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines ; Maintained by steve s (contributor 47126287) .
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1917 - 1945 (27 years)