Harry C. Sloth
1923 – 2023
USMC
WWII
Harry Christian Sloth was born on August 30, 1923, in Chicago, to Niels and Anna Kathrine (Jensen) Sloth.
Sloth served our country in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Fighting in the bloodiest and most notorious battles of the war, including the Battles of Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima, he served and protected his fellow comrades as a medical corpsman. Voluntarily enlisting on his own at the age of nineteen, he had a sense of duty, responsibility, and patriotism at a very young age.
For his valiant and brave service, Harry was awarded many of the military’s highest honors, including the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars, the American Medal, the Victory Medal, and the distinguished Presidential Unit Citation with two stars, an award issued in the name of the President of the United States to units in the armed forces for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. To receive this rare honor, the unit must display gallantry and determination in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions, setting it apart from other units.
After his service in WWII, Sloth attended Hamlin University in Minnesota, earning a Bachelor’s Degree. He continued to serve his country with a professional career in the United States Customs.
Sloth met his future bride, Shirley Maier, at a dance in Chicago where after one dance together, she told a friend that “Harry was the man she was going to marry.” In 62 years of marriage, they raised seven children, instilling in all his family a sense of fun, appreciation for being together and celebrating.
Pharmacist 2nd Class Harry Sloth passed away peacefully on July 23, 2023, a month before his 100th birthday, and is buried in Barrington’s Evergreen Cemetery.
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Remember. Honor. Teach.
Courtesy of Signal Hill Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
