Harlan N. Hartness

Harlan N. Hartness (March 28, 1898 – June 13, 1986) was a career officer in the United States Army. Appointed to the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1917, his class graduated from an accelerated academic program in 1918 with the anticipation of entering the First World War. After the Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war, Hartness class returned to West Point, then graduated again in June 1921. His subsequent education included a bachelor's degree from New York City's Columbia College and completion of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

A veteran of World War I, World War II, and the United States Army Military Government in Korea, Hartness attained the rank of major general and served in high-profile command assignments including the 7th Infantry Division, Army Ground Forces Board Number 3, United States Army Command and General Staff College, 4th Infantry Division, and the Office of Armed Forces Information and Education. He served from 1918 to 1954, and his awards included the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, two awards of the Bronze Star Medal and the Order of the Patriotic War First Class (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). In retirement, Hartness' activities included serving as treasurer of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.

Early life

Harlan Nelson Hartness was born in the Claremont, Virginia on March 28, 1898, the son of Reverend Robert Nelson Hartness and Sarah (Mitchell) Hartness. He was raised and educated in Newport News, Richmond, and Norfolk. The Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war before he arrived, but Hartness participated in a 1919 observation tour of World War I battlefields in Belgium, France, and Italy, as well as observing the Occupation of the Rhineland. Hartness' West Point class returned to the academy in 1920, and he graduated again in 1921. Hartness was discharged as a first lieutenant in December 1921, and recommissioned as a second lieutenant.

At the end of the Second World War, Hartness remained with the 26th Division during its post-war occupation of Czechoslovakia, and he acted as division commander from June to July 1945. Hartness was posted to South Korea as assistant division commander of the 7th Infantry Division during the United States Army Military Government in Korea. In April 1951, Hartness led the 4th Infantry Division as it moved to West Germany in order to take up its role as part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Western Europe, the first large deployment of U.S. troops to the European continent since the end of World War II. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

Retirement and death In retirement, Hartness was a resident of Ophelia, Virginia. Hartness was buried at Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Heathsville, Virginia.