Preserving Family History: Chronicling a Father’s World War II Experience

Harry Albert Elias stands in a crater left by a 500-pound bomb. Courtesy of the Harry Albert Elias Family

Harry Albert Elias enlisted in the Army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He fought in the European Theater from June 19, 1944, to May 5, 1945, with the 35th Infantry Division’s 733rd Field Artillery Battalion. He was honorably discharged on Oct. 22, 1945, and came back home. Those are the easily discernible details.

What isn’t easily discernible is what happened during those brutal months in Europe. The black-and-white photos can only describe so much. The soldier who took those photos, however, can paint more than a thousand words. He can paint a world that’s far removed.

The Chronicling of a War Story

Barbara Moneypenny had listened to numerous World War II stories over the years from her father, Harry Albert Elias. His box of war photos sat somewhere in the house collecting dust and holding memories. But that box of photos and a less-than-detailed oral history was all the family had. With her father nearing his 76th birthday and struggling with Parkinson’s, she knew there was little time left to chronicle his story. As Father’s Day approached in 1996, she decided the time was now to capture it.