Harold Zier
[Harold Zier was not from Reardan. He was born in Odessa and during the war, his parents lived in Davenport and they had many of his letters published in the Davenport Times-Tribune. His brother Vigil lived most of his life after the war in Reardan.]
September 17, 1942 Davenport Times-Tribune
Mr. and Mrs. George Zier of Davenport have received word that their son Lieutenant Harold Zier of the United States army has been promoted to battalion adjutant. He has been sent overseas and his parents were notified of his arrival at an undisclosed location.
December 12, 1942 Davenport Times-Tribune
Mr. and Mrs. George Zier received an air mail letter, Friday, from their son, Second Lieutenant Harold Zier, stating he was now on duty in north Africa with the army engineers. Previously he was stationed in Ireland and then in England. Lt. Zier's letter was mailed November 16, taking four weeks to arrive here despite being sent air mail.
January 21, 1943 Davenport Times-Tribune
A recent letter to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Zier of Davenport, from Lieutenant Harold Zier, with the army in North Africa says:
"The natives are very friendly to the Americans. While my staff Sergeant and I were out to try to barter for eggs and vegetables from the natives, we met a Spanish-speaking Arab who was very happy to see us and felt greatly indebted to the Americans. He gave us eggs, onions, etc, and insisted we visit his home. He gave us supper, consisting of a meal, like crumbly-brown bread. Even introduced us to his four wives. This shows a very friendly attitude, as Arabs seldom allow non-Moslims to enter their homes, or see their wives unless the wives are heavily veiled, with just one eye peaking out."
Lt. Zier writes he is kept very busy and has been in several battles. He says the weather (Dec. 4) is very agreeable. They are now getting free cigarettes, tobacco, matches, gum, toothpaste and shaving cream from the U.S.O. Shave and haircut cost nine francs--equal to twelve cents. His only wish is for more and more letters from the U.S.A.
March 18, 1943 Davenport Times-Tribune
Another son of Mr. and Mrs. George Zier is Lieutenant Harold Zier, who is with an engineering corp in North Africa. The following was taken from a letter from him about a month ago: > We get chocolate and sugar and coffee in our rations, and hard candy, too, so that is where your rationing goes, and we burn an awful lot of gasoline. These wars are certainly on the expensive side. We have some condensed milk; we haven't had fresh milk since we left the states. I've been thinking what a splurge I'm going to make on the jello and whipped cream and bananas when I get back.
April 29, 1943 Davenport Times-Tribune
Harold Zier Sees Old Roman Ruins
Says Jerries Are Tough, But Yanks Can Beat Them
A letter from Lieutenant Harold G. Zier, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Zier of Davenport, who is with an engineer's corps in North Africa, he writes of swimming in Roman pools and seeing interesting Roman and Carthaginian ruins.
One of the places we explored was a large arena surrounded by a 40-foot wall made of formed and fitted rocks weighing about 1000 pounds each. There were high arched entrance gates with large marble columns still shiny and carved with Roman figures. There were small rooms on each side of the large orator's platform. In the back of the platform was a curved recess for the (now missing) statues. From each side room a high, steep stairway led to a door in the hillside. There was a trap door leading to a tunnel that went winding down to the river.
We are kept very busy, sometimes 24 hours a day. Those Jerries certainly put the finest of workmanship and material into everything they have. You have never seen a more perfectly planned and executed enterprise. They have a science that takes real stuff to beat, and pardon me if I think its the YANKS who will beat it."
August 12, 1943 Davenport Times-Tribune
First Lieutenant Harold Zier, of Lt. General George S. Patton's 19th engineers, now in Sicily, has received commendation from several superior officers in particular from British Major Bock on March 7. Harold wrote his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Zier of Davenport, June 9, "I have gone through the entire African campaign without a scratch and have some pretty blue ribbon to show for it."
Promoted to company commander recently, Lt. Zier now has over 200 men under his command. He has met no one from home, but recently received at letter from Howard Derr, former Penney's clerk in Odessa, now in Africa and hopes to see him soon.
Lt. Zier has been in the army more than a year and a half. He left the United States last September and was stationed in Ireland until ordered to participate in the attack on North Africa.
September 28, 1944 Davenport Times-Tribune
Captain Harold G. Zier of Davenport has been awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in action, while serving with an advanced army engineer unit on the Firth army front in Italy. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Zier, reside in Davenport. Captain Zier has been overseas since September, 1942.
October 12, 1944 Davenport Times-Tribune
Captain Zier at Front Line
(Excerpts) On May 17, from Italy, Correspondent Homer Bigert wrote of Americans breaking through pillboxes just west of Scauri and pressing ahead without contacting Germans. Some of the reporters had a notion they might drive right into Formia, an attractive resort town where the Germans had wintered.
They drove cautiously after leaving tanks and artillery far behind as no one had precise information how far American troops had advanced...Soon they pass three abandoned guns and crossed two small bridges which the fleeing enemy hadn't time to demolish.
Beyond the second bridge near the limits of Monte Campese they caught up with Captain Harold G. Zier, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Zier of Davenport. His engineers were mine sweeping and had captured two snipers and a German gramophone with records.
Captain Zier rode with them. Their jeep was the first American vehicle in town, and Zier kept them running in the German tracks, looking carefully on both side for telltale bulges in the pavement.
Zier noticed fresh footprints of German hobnailed boots in a dusty path from a three-story yellow concrete building to the left of the highway. He went on foot down the driveway, found no mines and waved them on.
Soon after inspecting Mount Campese and preparing to go on to Formia, the correspondents found that the previous notions of that city's peacefulness were excessively cheerful. A sudden angry whine of trajectory shells whizzed over head, exploding on the road outside and shaking the plaster from the walls.
They didn't pause to read the German signs pointing to the hospital basement. And after two hours staring at the cellar wall adorned by a German pin-up girl, overdressed and unattractive by "Equire" standards, the reporters raced back toward Scauri. Their infantry was still short of Formia!
March 15, 1945 Davenport Times-Tribune
Zier is Company Commander of Veteran Engineer Group
With the Fifth Army, Italy--Captain Harold G. Zier, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Zier of Davenport is company commander of the 19th combat engineer regiment, Mediterranean theater veterans now maintaining roads, bridges and trails for the Fifth army in rugged mountain terrain before the Po valley in Italy.
The 19th has maintained or rebuilt more than 4,000 miles of road and built or repaired more than 200 bridges in the Italian campaign and has served in combat for more than 550 days, including action at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia and Cassino, Italy.
The engineers took up defensive positions against a possible Japanese invasion of California early in the war when a Japanese submarine shelled Santa Barbara.
While serving in support of a Ranger battalion in the Tunisian campaign, the 19th engineers removed more than 15,000 mines from a single minefield at Sened.
The 19th sailed overseas in August 1942, served in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and landed on African D-Day November 8, 1942 at Arsew, Northern Algeria. They went up to secure the left flank of the First infantry division. When the Algerian fight ended, part of the 19th went to work unloading supplies at the Arsew port.
The regiment entered the Tunisian campaign in January, 1943. In Kasserine Pass, the engineers held the right flank for 72 hours, harassing German armored columns with fire of 37-mm anti-tank guns and small arms, while American troops withdrew. They again provided cover for the withdrawal at Gafsa. They supported the 1st and 34th infantry divisions and the 1st armored division in the concluding phase of the African campaign.
The 19th again was in the vanguard as the Seventh army invaded Sicily, built the first American airfield there, cleared the beaches for incoming supplies, and supported the 9th and 45th infantry divisions and the 1st armored division in the rapid advance to the Messina straits.
The outfit entered the Italian campaign in October, 1943, and backed up the 34th and 36th division in the push to Cassino. The engineers ferried doughboys across the Rapido river through intense German machine gun fire in January, 1944, cleared mines, built and maintained footbridges and held open approach routes to the water barrier.
They supported the first special service force and the 95th "Custer" and 88th "Blue Devil" divisions in the spring offensive to Rome and continued to serve in support of the 88th and 85th divisions as they bridged the Arso river and pierced the Gothic line.
A "Jack of all trades" outfit, the 19th has build railroads and concrete pillboxes, drained the swamps, and laid pipelines. Once the engineers used a gas mask converted into a diver's helmet for underwater work. On another occasion, they operated a ferry boat. They have served in support of British, Canadian, New Zealand and French troops.
They have been commanded by Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, now commanding the 21 army group on the Western Front, and Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr., Third army commander.
Harold G. Zier Obituary
(from Find-a-grave.com)
He died 28 Apr 2000.
Harold G. Zier, 84, of Huntsville died Friday in Pulaski, Tenn. The funeral will be Tuesday at 2 p.m. at St. Mark's Lutheran Church with Pastor Vernon Luckey officiating.
Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery with Laughlin Service Funeral Home in charge.
Mr. Zier lived in Huntsville 50 years. He was a decorated World War II veteran and a 1939 mechanical engineering graduate of Washington State University. He retired from the Army Reserves as a lieutenant colonel and worked at Redstone Arsenal in the Army's anti-ballistic missile program until 1968. He was a charter member of St. Mark's, a member of the Huntsville Rotary Club and in the 1950s was president of the Huntsville Community Concert Association.
Survivors include his wife, Constance S. Zier of Huntsville; one son, George Zier of Conyers, Ga.; one daughter, Cathy D. Zier Wilson of Sebastopol, Calif.; and two grandchildren.
[The Army did missile and rocket research at the Redstone Arsenal after the war, at times in competition with NASA. Many of the scientists formerly worked for the German V2 program.]