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Sgt. Harvey Sigurd Olson 4th Cavalry Recon Troop A By Shane E. Olson, Halma, MN USA.
My Great Uncle Harvey, of Lake Bronson, MN, enlisted in the US Army in 1941 with the 4th Cavalry Reconnaissance, Troop A. Harvey was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on DDAY. Prior to the main landings, Sgt. Harvey S. Olson, Private Thomas Killeran of the 4th Cavalry Recon and Sgt. John W. Zanders, and Corp. Melvin F. Kenzie of the 24th Cavalry Recon; armed only with knives on small rubber rafts in heavily mined surf; slashing the rafts open, and swimming the remaining 500 yards to what was supposedly an enemy-held shore to mark the beaches. At 0430 (H minus 2 hours) the four men landed on the Iles St.Marcouf to capture what was suspected to be a hostile observation post or casemate for mine-field control. Uncle Harvey and Killeran were the only 2 to survive this mission. Harvey was the first man to amphibously reach French soil on DDAY. Later that morning he fought at Utah Beach and was one of the 2, 4th Cavalry troops to link up with the 82nd Airborne. He fought in many major WWII battles including Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the crossing of the Rhine River attached to the 101st Airborne. He was awarded the Purple Heart at the battle of Mortain and at the battle of Vierville with Oak Leaf Clusters for wounds received. Harvey re-enlisted with the 8th Ranger battalion and fought in the Korean War and remained a career man, in which he had a total of 22 years of service. Passed away September 6, 2002.

Truly an honor to have known this man and he will be missed very, very much. Truly the stories you read about in books and see in movies.