BG Lew Harned passes at age 101

Some of you probably passed through General Harned’s command without realizing it – or the remarkable longevity of his service. Born in 1924, he originally tried to join up in 1942, but was classified 4-F due to nearsightedness.

He found another route to the war through the American Field Service, a civilian volunteer corps that supplied ambulance drivers to British and Allied forces. He sailed for Egypt in 1943 and joined the British Eighth Army.

As a driver with the 485th Ambulance Company attached to the British 78th Division, Harned served across North Africa and the Middle East before moving with the Eighth Army into the Italian campaign.

The British government awarded him three campaign medals for his service, including the Italy Star.

Mr. Harned went on to medical school, certified in 1951, just in time for the draft.

Commissioned as an Army warrant officer, he transferred to the Air Force during training and served as a surgeon at the 2791st U.S. Air Force Hospital in Ogden, Utah, from 1953 to 1955. He left active duty as a captain in the Medical Corps.

After he got out he got certified in orthopedics and joined a Waterloo, OH practice, staying there till 1985.

He returned to Madison in 1985 and accepted a lieutenant colonel’s commission in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, which needed an orthopedic surgeon. A promotion to colonel followed the next year, and in May 1988 he took command of the Madison-based 13th Evacuation Hospital.

Desert Shield activated the 350-member unit in November 1990. The 13th Evac deployed to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 10, 1991, and set up a 408-bed field hospital near the Iraqi border under the Army’s VII Corps, according to the Wisconsin National Guard.

Mind you, by now the man was 66 years old. He was officially the oldest commander in the entire theater.

VII Corps commander Lt. Gen. Fred Franks visited the unit repeatedly, a relationship recorded in “Into the Storm,” a book co-authored between Franks and Tom Clancy.

Harned earned the Bronze Star for his Gulf War leadership and was promoted to brigadier general before retiring from the military on Nov. 30, 1992.

His decorations included the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, three Army Commendation Medals, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three service stars and the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal. The U.S. Army inducted him into its ROTC Hall of Fame in 2022.

In uniform off an on for almost 50 years in two different country’s armies. You know there are some stories there. Oh – and

When he turned 99, Harned set out to try 99 new things before his 100th birthday. The list eventually grew to 107 items. He waterskied on the Mississippi River, rode a drag-racing car at Great Lakes Dragaway and reprised a 1941 stage role from his Wisconsin High School years.  Military.com

As of the original article’s writing, no funeral arrangements had been finalized.  I’d suggest readers in the Madison, WI keep your eyes open for updates.

Category: Korea, We Remember, WWII