Harold D. Owen

Harold D. Owen was born in August 1918 in Jersey City, New Jersey. His father died while he was still in high school. Upon graduation, Owen immediately got a job at an A&P supermarket to help support the family. When the draft began in 1940, he decided to join the National Guard, which was mobilizing for a year of training. Both of his brothers were already in the service at the time, one in the Air Force, and the other in the Army. Owen enlisted in the 102nd Cavalry, (aka the “Essex Troop”) at the Roseville Avenue Armory in Newark, New Jersey. “The Essex Troop was a prestigious outfit… you had to have a certain quality to be in it,” he added.

The 102nd was ordered to active duty in January 1941, and went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for further training. It was one of the last units to have a mounted troop; Owen trained on horseback, learning a lesson in following orders in the process. His friend fell off his horse, and Owen dismounted to assist him. A captain called him over, and reprimanded him for doing that; it was not a part of his orders to check on fellow soldiers. Owen recalled that his experience as a Boy Scout helped him in his training at Fort Jackson.

In September 1942, the 102nd, the first New Jersey National Guard unit to go overseas, shipped out for England, landing in Liverpool. By then it was completely mechanized, with its several squadrons equipped with “Jeeps” produced by the Bantam Motor Car Company, as well as armored cars, light tanks and self-propelled 75 millimeter “assault guns.” Due to his height, the over 6-foot-tall Owen was often selected for tasks while training in England. One of these was deactivating mines, a dangerous skill in which several soldiers were injured, but he succeeded.

In December 1942, the 102nd’s Second Squadron, which included Owen, was transferred from England to Algeria to serve on security and escort duty for allied commanders and dignitaries. Owen recalled other allied powers having security troops there as well. His unit guarded both Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Dwight Eisenhower and many other allied leaders on inspection visits. One night in Marrakech, Morocco, a corporal told him to shoot anyone who walked through the base gate. Winston Churchill walked through the gate and greeted Owen. Fortunately, Owen did not shoot him! During his time here, he was surprised with how modern the areas in North Africa appeared, with concrete roads and buildings.

On November 30, 1943, Owen’s squadron was reorganized and redesignated as the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. The squadron was ordered to Italy; they left North Africa in early May 1944, landing at the harbor in Naples on the afternoon of May 16, 1944. The unit’s job was reconnaissance, and Owen said they were told to not engage in any fighting, if possible. His crew did take quite a few enemy soldiers as prisoners, however. The 117th eventually captured 10,000.

There were three troops in the 117th Cavalry; Owen, then a Staff Sergeant, was moved from B troop to A troop, as well as promoted to platoon sergeant. In August of 1944, the squadron participated in the invasion of southern France. One of his missions, as the Americans drove north towards Germany, was to escort two reporters who wanted to author stories and take photos of what was going on in France. Owen brought them to small countryside villages that were free of German soldiers. He explained that if there were cows out grazing and clothes on clotheslines, there were no enemies nearby to worry about. Even so, he stayed in the vehicle he was escorting the reporters in, and was ready to take off at a moment’s notice. In January 1945, Owen received a battlefield promotion to Second Lieutenant. 

Owen was discharged in October of 1945 at Fort Dix, New Jersey as a Second Lieutenant. He received the Purple Heart Award, the European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon with Bronze Arrowhead, the Bronze Star Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, and the Good Conduct, Medal.

Harold “Smokie” Owen passed away peacefully on January 3, 2008, at the age of eighty-nine in Cranford, New Jersey.