World War II Honoree

Cornelius B. Hardman, Jr.

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Ponca City, Oklahoma

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Sergeant. On June 30, 1942, he entered the United States Army at Houston, Texas, later deployed to the European Theater of Operations. Served as a Rifleman assigned to Lima Company, Third Battalion, 345th Infantry Regiment a subordinate unit of the 87th Infantry ‘Golden Acorn’ Division attached to the U.S. Third Army. He died of wounds February 17, 1945 that were sustained, in his division’s attack on the Siegfried Line and buried in a battlefield cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, his remains were returned to his family for burial, with interment August 16, 1948 at the Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. This Soldier, a Native American Indian, a descendant of the Ponca Tribe awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, who so gallantly gave his life in the defense of his country.