SCOUTING REPORT | Brother who didn’t survive, Aberdeen’s fruit trees, GOP’s incumbents, blasphemy in Pakistan

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In 1946, as the ashes of World War II in Europe continued to smolder, Kenneth Haraldsen made a trip to a U.S. veterans’ cemetery in the Netherlands. There, Kenneth found the grave of his older brother, Harald. Like Harald, and like another older brother, Anton, Kenneth had fought in World War II, serving with the 8^th Army Air Corps. 

The three brothers had been born in Buffalo in Harding County, South Dakota. Unlike Kenneth and Anton, Harald had not survived the war.

Now, the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs is honoring Harald’s sacrifice by dedicating a bridge in his name. The bridge is on U.S Highway 85 over the South Fork Grand River south of Buffalo.

Army Technician Fifth Class Harald Haraldsen participated in the D-Day invasion on the deadly Omaha beach. He was assigned to the 743^rd Tank Battalion, which supported the 116^th Infantry Combat Support Team and the 28^th Infantry Division during the Normandy invasion.

Haraldsen survived D-Day and fought with his unit through France to the Siegfried Line near Aachen, Germany. His luck ran out when he was wounded and killed in action on Oct. 7, 1944. He was 29. 

Six-figure gift comes at right time for veterans tiny homes project