Remembering World War II

Harry Lee Gordon

Name: Henry (Harry) Lee Gordon Rank: Private 1st Class Service Number: 11091531 Service: 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, US Army Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: October 23, 1923 Place of Birth: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: October 16, 1942 Age at Enlistment: 19 Place of Enlistment: Boston, Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: South Boston, Suffolk, MA Height: 6 feet, 2 inches Complexion: Light Eyes: Blue Hair: Brown Trade: Semi-skilled (Aircraft Construction) Marital Status: Single Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Clarence McKenzie Gordon (Father) Date of Death: July 15, 1944 Age: 21 Cemetery: Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France Grave Reference: Plot J, Row 24, Grave 9 Henry (Harry) Lee Gordon was the son of Clarence McKenzie Gordon (1891-1949) and Hilda M. (Mary) Ward (1895-1970). His father was born in Boston, Massachusetts; his mother in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The family moved to Boston sometime in the 1920’s. By the 1940 census, Harry had completed some secondary school and was working as a delivery boy. Harry registered for the US Draft 30 June 1942 in Suffolk, Massachusetts. He was working at the Atlantic Coast Fisheries at the No. 4 Fish Pier in Boston, Suffolk, Mass. His home address was recorded as 175 West Third Street, in South Boston, at that time. His father was also a fish cutter in the fishing industry. The 30th Division, including Harry’s 120th Infantry Regiment, departed Boston, MA, on 12 February 1944 and arrived in England on February 22nd. After approximately three months of training, the Division was ready for the assault on Europe. After D-Day, the 30th Division landed in Normandy four days after the first landings on June 10, 1944. Once the beaches were secured, the Normandy breakthrough included the goals of Cherbourg and St. Lo. The taking of St. Lo was a difficult operation. Between July 7th and 20th 1944, the 30th Division suffered approximately 3000 killed or wounded soldiers. American forces reached the outskirts of St. Lo on July 15, 1944, but the garrison holding the town refused to yield. In a battle that inflicted carnage reminiscent of World War I, the Germans gave ground only gradually, house by house. Private 1st Class Gordon died on July 15th during the Battle of Saint-Lô, France. Harry Lee Gordon was buried in the US Army temporary Cemetery 3539 at La Cambe, in Normandy (Block L, Row 1, Grave 27). La Cambe was established by the United States Army Graves Registration Service during the war, and was originally the resting place for both American and German soldiers, sailors and airmen buried in two adjacent fields. In 1945, the Americans transferred two-thirds of their fallen from La Cambe back to America whilst the remainder were re-interred at the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Harry Lee Gordon was re interred there.

Source: findagrave American Battle Monuments Commission