Harold Paul Kindleberger

West Point, 1964

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Paul E. Tardiff on March 18, 2003:

I first met Harold when he was a student at Bel Aire High School, El Paso, texas. I was a young staff sergeant (25 years old) assigned to the Army Recruiting Station there. Harold was a cadet LTC and commander of the ROTC unit there in his senior year. He had applied for West Point but did not get an appointment. As I recall, he lived with his mother and a younger brother. After graduating Harold enlisted as a Pvt E-1 in the Infantry and went to Fort Benning for training. I was very impressed with this young man and thought that the Academy was missing out on a great prospect. He graduated from both basic and the Advanced Infantry Course as honor student. He stopped to see us during his leave and told us he was on orders for Germany. What an absolute model soldier! When he arrived in Germany PFC Kindleberger was told he had been offered appointments to both West Point and Annapolis! He was returned to the states. During his first leave from the academy he and his mother stopped by the recruiting station to see us. They had brought a large cake with the Academy insignia on it. She was so very proud of him. From what I have heard Harold done very well at the academy during his four years. I was reading a "CROWN' report in Vietnam in May 1966 when I came across his name as being killed in Action...I believe it was during a battle in Dak To. One of America's outstanding young men whose life was cut short. Harold had so many things yet to be accomplished, we will never see him become the general officer he was destined to become. I wrote to his mother and in words difficult to find, told her tht if anything Harold was perhaps, too much of a leader of men. I learned later that his brigade wrote to her and said virtually the same thing. God Bless you Harold, rest peacefully.

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