84th Infantry Medic, 334th Medical Detachment, 1st Battalion, in a variety of Companies
Bronze Star
Campaigns; Siegfried Line, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe
Discharged 1946

BRONZE STAR

Bronze Star Certificate and medal    Pfc Hayes receives medal

HEADQUARTERS 84TH INFANTRY DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE COMMANDING GENERAL

Private First Class Harry E Hayes 36743099, 334th Infantry, United States Army. For heroic service in connection with military operations against the enemy, Germany, 23 February 1945. Performing duty as a litter bearer with three other men. Private First Class Hayes formed a litter squad on his own initiative and successfully evacuated several casualties who had been wounded by enemy antitank fire. Without regard for his safety, he crossed approximately 100 yards of open flat terrain under constant enemy mortar and sniper fire to reach the casualties and administer aid which un-doubtedly resulted in saving the lives of several men. The conspicuous courage and devotion to duty displayed by Private First Class Hayes reflect high credit upon himself and the armed forces of the United States. Entered military service from Michigan


PHOTO GALLERY

Collage of Railsplitter articles on Pfc Hayes	A glimpse of the life of Harry Ellis Hayes	Then and now
Pfc Hayes as a young soldier with picture of grandson (Chad) that has his looks. Note that in both pictures, each of them is 18 years of age.	Dagger and scabbard picked up from a table by Chad's Grandfather while the 84th ID was fighting in Germany.	Close-up of engraving on blade of dagger.
Chad's Grandfather holding the dagger.	Cartoon from "The Railsplitter" newspaper, printed while the 84th was fighting in Germany.	Letter sent by men on the front line to the 84th Medics.
84th Division walks through Hannover, PFC Hayes is the second on left, (not carrying a weapon) Article from Kalamazoo Gazette, Hayes' hometown paper.	Chad's Grandfather with Chad

Memories of my Grandfathers service; as told by his grandson, Chad Timmerman.

• The Dagger;  I will always remember how he told me he had found the dagger.  "I found that thing just sitting on a table in a huge house, right after we had crossed the Roer.  He and the men were never as fearful at any other time in the war."    I used to ask him;  "Even in the Bulge?"  He would tell me "No, we were way to busy during the Bulge, but that was the coldest I ever was..."

• Didn't want to kill;  This was also an interesting story, and sounds typical of Army ways. Grandpa was a National Guardsman for many years before the war, he and his Dad also were gunsmiths, and sold weapons out of the garage.  To this day, I have many handmade weapons, that they manufactured, shotguns and rifles. 
  So... he was proficient with a rifle to say the least, The 84th wanted him to be a sniper originally.  My Grandpa hated killing things and wanted no part of being a sniper.  So since he was a hefty fellow, he volunteered for the artillery, figuring well, at least he wouldn't see the people he killed, (maybe).  So he trained as an artilleryman w/ the 84th at Camp Claiborne Louisiana.
  Then it happened, you might even call it providence. When the 84th sailed for Europe in Sept of '44, Someone mentioned during the trip over there,  "They needed medics, so I volunteered for that, and they trained me on the ship!"

   

• Being a Medic;  He said the main thing he remembered about the training was...  "They said, "patch em up, and get em to the aid station.."  He said honestly;  "I worked as a stretcher bearer 50% of the time and field medic the other... It just depended on what platoon was on the line or who was leading the attack."

• The worst & best memories;  I remember him saying   "The worst thing to see was when we found those concentration camps... But it was great when we found our boys, POWS, I never had seen such happy men." 

• Being called a hero;  Grandpa would never take credit really, he would say; "Ahh shoot, we did that almost daily, some officer just happened to see it.  The real heroes, are the ones that never sailed home."

• "The Gentle Giant";  "Do you feel like you know him?   You can see why he was and is my hero, he was quiet, but very strong.  Everyone knew him, but at the same time very few really knew of him.  Even though he began to almost shrink or become smaller as he aged, he still was around 6' tall, and though I'm about 6' 2", he always seemed huge to me.  He had huge hands and arms as long as a gorilla...  He was known around here and at church as the "Gentle Giant."  It fit him well."

• We lost that Railsplitter; Pfc Hayes passed away on March 11th, 2004, just days short of his 86th B-day, and just days after he and my Grandma celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. 
   "We had a big surprise party, and he was so happy and surprised he cried.  We got a lot of his old friends together that he hadn't seen in ages, many who he served with him in the Guard."