[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING PRIVATE FIRST CLASS HAROLD KENNER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ANDER CRENSHAW

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2011

  Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a hero of World War 
II, Private First Class Harold Kenner, United States Army. After 67 
years, PFC Kenner is finally home and will be buried July 29 at 
Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. It has been a 
long journey for this West Scranton, PA, native, but his story 
illustrates the military's commitment to bring its troops home--no 
matter how long it takes.
  You see, PFC Kenner, a member of the Army's 401st Glider Infantry 
Regiment, G Company, was listed as missing in action on September 30, 
1944, during Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands. The Allies 
used 933 gliders to bring its troops and supplies to the battlefield. 
The fight would last 72 days as the Allies tried to keep the corridor 
open in the Zon-Veghel area of Holland. The fighting was extremely 
heavy and so were the casualties. PFC Kenner died on that battlefield, 
but his body was not recovered.
  PFC Kenner was buried in the Kiekberg Woods near Groesbeek, 
Netherlands, unbeknownst to the Army. His family was notified of his 
death, but they did not know what happened to him or his body. In 1987, 
remains were found at that gravesite, and recently, thanks to DNA 
samples those remains were positively identified as PFC Harold Kenner. 
Now, this brave American soldier will return to his homeland and rest 
among other heroes at Arlington.
  Harold Kenner was only 20 years old when he died, but he was a member 
of the Greatest Generation. Posthumously, he was awarded the Purple 
Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars and 
Bronze Arrowhead Device, World War II Victory Medal, Glider Badge, 
Honorable Service Lapel Button for World War II, French Croix de 
Guerre, Belgium Gourragere and Netherlands Orange Lanyard.
  PFC Kenner died in the largest airborne operation in the war up to 
that point as the Allies attempted to seize a succession of bridges 
over the main rivers of the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, allowing them to 
outflank the Siegfried Line and advance into Northern Germany. The 
movie, A Bridge Too Far, told the story of this failed mission.
  According to military records, members of Kenner's 401st and the 
325th Glider Infantry regiments were dropped into an area around Grave 
and the Waal River in Nijmegen on September 23, 1944. They were dropped 
behind enemies lines and over the next week, PFC Kenner and his fellow 
soldiers were repeatedly attacked by the Germans. The wet, dense woods 
made it difficult for the men to navigate, and the weather resulted in 
rusted, jammed guns.
  On the morning of September 30, the woods were lit up with a 
relentless barrage of artillery fire on both sides. Company commanders 
were ordered to move onward and continue the attack, despite the fact 
that their wounded were left in German positions. Heavily armed, the 
enemy held positions on both flanks. As the day wore on, G Company's 
communication lines broke down amid the chaos, leaving soldiers 
separated from their platoons and scattered throughout the dense woods. 
When the day finally ended, G Company had sustained heavy casualties, 
and five men were missing in action (MIA), including PFC Kenner.
  A year later, on October 1, 1945, the War Department, despite never 
recovering a body, issued a finding of death for PFC Kenner. In the 
years that followed, the Kenners accepted that Harold was gone, but he 
was never out of their hearts.
  The Army never gave up looking for the missing members of G Company 
in the Kiekberg Wood. Finally, in 1987, a second burial site was 
uncovered in the wooded area, two miles south of Groesbeck and seven 
miles southeast of Nijmegen. A Dutch search-and-recovery team turned 
the American soldier's remains over to the United States Army Memorial 
Affairs group in Europe. From there, PFC Kenner--not yet identified--
went to Hawaii to the Central Identification Laboratory. It was 
believed that the skeleton was, indeed, one of the missing five G 
Company soldiers; specifically 1st Lt. Joseph F. Myers. CIA determined 
it was a male who was 17 to 23 years of age, between 64 and 70 inches 
tall and had a fracture on the left forearm at or near the time of 
death. They also determined it was not Lt. Myers.
  The remains were returned to the Netherlands in 2001. Five years 
later, the CIA decided to try to examine the remains against DNA 
supplied by family members of the other four missing G Company members. 
Using the DNA and dental records, it was concluded that the remains 
were PFC Harold Kenner.
  Harold's mother and father, Henry and Pearl Kenner, and his two 
siblings, Henry and Ruth, are deceased. But 50 members of his family 
will attend his funeral and finally bring this true American hero home. 
His journey is a vivid reminder of the heroism and sacrifices of our 
troops and our military families, whether they serve today or 
yesteryear. Welcome home, PFC Harold Kenner, and may you now rest in 
peace.

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