Harold Steele was a farm boy from Illinois who saw action in France and Germany with 89th Infantry Division as an infantry platoon leader. He was one of the first to discover the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp near Buchenwald, and finished the war on occupation duty in Vienna, where he met his future wife, an OSS cryptographer.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Meeting Prisoners
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Initial combat with 89th Division
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Liberation of Ohrdruf & marriage in Vienna
Transcript
Related Materials
Margery Steele
See also the interview with Margery Steele, Harold's wife.
See Also
His interview in the Agriculture In Illinois Project
Video
Photos
Caption
Harold, a student at the University of Illinois at the time, takes a break from his studies in 1942.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1942
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Sergeant Harold Steele standing outside his barracks in 1943.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1943
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Second Lieutenant Harold Steele shortly after his commissioning, circa October 1944.
Where:
Unknown
When:
circa October 1944
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Lieutenant Steele, standing in front of a Sherman?? tank during the 89th Division's drive across Germany in the spring of 1945. The unit is somewhere between the Rhine and the Ohrdrurf concentration camp.
Where:
The unit is somewhere between the Rhine and the Ohrdrurf concentration camp.
When:
spring of 1945
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Margery and Harold on their wedding day in Vienna, Austria on October 13, 1946. With them to witness the event are a Major assigned to the headquarters of U.S. Forces, Austria, and his wife.
Where:
Vienna, Austria
When:
October 13, 1946
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Harold and Margery cutting their wedding cake in Vienna, Austria on October 13, 1946.
Where:
Vienna, Austria
When:
October 13, 1946
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Where:
Vienna, Austria
When:
October 13, 1946
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Newlyweds Harold and Margery Steele in Princeton, IL where they met Harold's family. From left to right are his mother Georgia, his brother Roger, Margery, Harold, his father Forest, and his brother George.
Where:
Princeton, IL
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Harold and Margery in Vienna, near the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
Where:
Vienna
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator's photo