World War II Central Illinois Stories

Oral History Interview: Kermit Harden of Urbana

 

Kermit Harden served in the U.S. Army infantry in Europe. He was awarded the Silver and Bronze Stars and participated in major battles in Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. As a prisoner of the Germans, Harden was part of a famous prisoner exchange engineered by a Red Cross officer who boldly traveled into enemy territory to negotiate the swap.