Daniel Russell Harness Sr.
T/4 in Signal Co, Special : HQ
Military occupational specialty: 60 (cook)
ASN#38503160
Born 1922 in AR, Died 1988
County of residence at enlistment: Searcy County, AR
Other residence(s): Marshall, AR; Fox, AR; Disney, OK; Pawhuska, OK; Ogden, UT
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Dan Harness was born on November 23, 1922 in Marshall, AR, the youngest of eight children. His father was a farmer, and died when Dan was a baby.
Dan completed seventh grade at the Marshall School. His mother remarried when Dan was 12 and they settled in Disney, OK sometime after 1935. The 1940 census characterizes him as a "new worker."
Dan and Lois on their wedding day; photo courtesy Linda Passmore
He was head cook in his unit and told a few stories to his family about his experience. His daughter reports that they often had to cook in the morning with no lights on, and one cook added salt instead of sugar to the morning's pancakes. Not a pleasant surprise for the hungry soldiers! Another story involved the serving of carrots as a side dish for lunch. The soldiers didn't eat many, so at dinner the cooks mashed the carrots and added sugar and cinnamon. The men ate them, thinking they were sweet potatoes.
Dan was discharged from the Army on September 25, 1945 and came home to meet his 10-month-old son, Danny, for the first time. The couple would go on to have a daughter, Linda, a few years later.
The 1950 census lists Dan as a farmer, back in Marshall. He also worked in construction, sawmills, and sales. He was produce manager at Harps Food Stores in Marshall for more than 20 years.
Dan’s faith was very important to him, and he was an active member of the Pentecostal church. His hobbies included reading, yard work, and tinkering with small engines. He never talked about the Ghost Army, other than tales (like the cooking ones above) that could apply to any Army contingent during the war. After he died, his daughter "found a magazine article about the Ghost Army he had kept but had no idea why it was important to him. Then in 2011 [23 years later] a friend talked about her father's WW2 experiences and I started looking into my Dad's military history. Needless to say I was totally surprised and mesmerized by it all."
Dan died on October 26, 1988 and is buried at Marshall Memorial Gardens in Marshall.
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
1942 draft card
1943 marriage record
1950 census
1988 VA death record
1988 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14354477/daniel-russell-harness
1988 obituary in the Arkansas Democrat
2024 (August 5) GALP Veteran Biography Worksheet from daughter Linda Passmore