29th US infantry division.
23 February is the day of the tragic death of this great 29er, PFC Henry Slade Harrell, who died on a lonely footbridge spanning the Roer River near Julich, Germany on February 23, 1945.
George Silk, one of the most renowned photographers of WWII, followed close behind Harrell on the footbridge, and the subsequent photo Silk snapped of Harrell's lifeless body, published in the March 12, 1945, edition of Life Magazine, became one of the most iconic photos of WWII.
For 65 years, the anonymous soldier lying on the bridge was unidentified, but with the help of 29th Division veterans and the voluminous records of the 29ID Archives, Harrell's identity was figured out in 2010.
A 20-year-old native of Sunflower, Alabama, the red-headed Slade Harrell was a high school standout academically and athletically.
His "II-C" draft classification - "men necessary for farm labor" - could have kept him out of uniform, but he chose to serve, and ended up a key member of Company C, 175th Infantry, the first 29ID unit to storm over the Roer on February 23, 1945.
He died exactly one year after he entered military service and is buried in his hometown of Sunflower.
He embodies the selfless spirit of his generation, who sacrificed everything for a better world. A great soldier and an even greater human being who will never
be forgotten.
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