Harry R. Harr

What would you do if a live grenade landed among your comrades and there was no time to escape? On June 5, 1945, deep in the battle-scarred jungles of Mindanao in the Philippines, 24-year-old Corporal Harry R. Harr made a decision that would save four American soldiers and cost him his own life. His extraordinary sacrifice would earn him the Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration for valor, and secure his place among the unforgettable heroes of World War II.

Born on February 22, 1921, in Pine Croft, Pennsylvania, Harr entered the United States Army from East Freedom in November 1942. He became a corporal in Company D, 124th Infantry Regiment, 31st Infantry Division, a formation that fought Japanese forces across the Southwest Pacific. By June 1945, Harr and his fellow soldiers were engaged in the dangerous campaign to liberate the southern Philippines.

On June 5, near Maglamin on the island of Mindanao, Japanese troops launched a fierce counterattack against Harr's machine-gun position. Enemy grenades struck the emplacement, and one exploded beneath the machine gun, disabling the weapon and wounding two crew members. As the surviving soldiers desperately attempted to restore their firepower, another grenade landed directly among them. With only seconds to act, Harr realized that throwing it away would endanger his comrades. Rather than retreat or seek cover, he deliberately threw himself over the grenade, absorbing the explosion with his own body.

His sacrifice saved four fellow soldiers and allowed them to continue their mission. The official Medal of Honor citation recognized his extraordinary courage, stating that his final act "saved four of his comrades and enabled them to continue their mission." For his conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty, Corporal Harry R. Harr was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor under War Department General Orders No. 28, dated March 28, 1946.

Harr's Purple Heart commemorates his death in combat. His recorded honors also include the Bronze Star Medal and Army Good Conduct Medal, although their original individual award orders remain to be verified. His wartime service is further represented by the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Philippine Liberation Ribbon. His regiment also received the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of its wartime service.

Harry R. Harr was only 24 years old when he died. He rests at Alto-Reste Park Cemetery in Altoona, Pennsylvania, far from the Philippine battlefield where he gave his life. His legacy is measured not only by military recognition, but by the four men who survived because of his courage. In the final seconds of his life, he chose their future over his own. That decision remains the enduring story of Corporal Harry R. Harr, a World War II Medal of Honor hero whose sacrifice deserves to be remembered for generations.