Harold Cohen

Harold Cohen (October 2, 1916 – August 15, 2006) was an American soldier who fought in France and Germany during World War II. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Army and commanded the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 4th Armored Division. Cohen received four Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, the Legion of Merit, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Distinguished Service Cross. He was a friend of future Army chief-of-staff Creighton Abrams.

Early life and enlistment Cohen was born in Woodruff, South Carolina, on October 2, 1916, the son of a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant. He grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Cohen attempted to enlist in the US Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 but was repeatedly rejected due to his poor vision. He ultimately signed a waiver to enlist as a private in 1942. He deployed to England in 1944 as the supply officer for the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion, holding the rank of major.

World War II service Thirty-eight days after D-Day, Cohen's battalion landed in France and started fighting its way eastward as part of the 4th Armored Division in General Patton's Third Army. After battalion commander Arthur L. West was wounded, Cohen took command, receiving a battlefield promotion to lieutenant colonel. He befriended Colonel Creighton Abrams, who commanded a tank battalion in the same division. The two units fought in tandem, with Cohen's infantry riding along on Abrams' Sherman tanks or following them on half-tracks. The Wehrmacht feared these deadly combined arms, posting signs and leaflets warning Germans to beware of Abrams and Cohen, "Roosevelt’s Highest Paid Butchers."

Cohen fought in the Battle of Arracourt, clashes at Lezey and Juvelize, the siege of Bastogne, the Lorraine campaign, and Operation Plunder. On February 25, 1945, he exposed himself to enemy fire to direct artillery and tank fire while leading a successful assault on Brecht, Germany.

In 2022, the Naming Commission placed Cohen on its shortlist of potential new names for nine Army installations named in honor of the Confederacy.