I offer my profound sympathy to you all on Harold's unexpected passing. We all lost a fine man, devoted husband and father, and a noble soldier. Harold was the Enlisted Advisor for the 2nd Battalion, 142nd Field Artillery, when I arrived at the Officer Advisor in July of 1979. Shiela and I had not yet fully relocated to the Fort Smith area and to help me out you welcomed me into your home on a temporary basis until my family could join me and we could get settled. Such is the nature of military families. I will never forget how gracious hosts you were to me during that time. I can honestly say that I could not have been blessed with a more professional non-commissioned officer and partner as I was with Harold. We were a good team together. I found him to be a wealth of knowledge, provide sound advice on how to handle training situations, and make the most of our mission to train the battalion to make it one of the best National Guard artillery outfits in the force structure. Harold was a professional soldier through and through and it didn't take me long to develop a deep respect for him, not only as a soldier, but as an individual. He was a family man and was most proud of his lovely wife and all his kids. Without bragging, he would always share their accomplishments in school and activities and relate how hard Elizabeth worked to raise them to be responsible, hard working youngsters. When Harold got orders to leave Fort Smith, I felt a deep loss of a partner and a friend, and felt honored that I had the pleasure of serving with him. We accomplished a great deal during our time together and the battalion was a better unit because of our joint efforts. I was elated that even after he retired from the service in Germany, that I was able to keep track of his accomplishments in civilian life; his time as security director for a trucking firm in Europe and the fact that he wrote and published a novel about the orphan kids back in the days when they passed through Fort Smith enroute to families who adopted them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his book and hoped to be able to read any other of his works yet to come. I was glad when you returned to Arkansas several years ago and I was able to visit again. Harold and I shared very similar views about where our country was heading and it was always a pleasure to philosophize with him on our shared views. Although we didn't have as close a relationship as one would have hoped, I feel a deep sense of loss for a friend and fellow soldier. He is in a better place now and I hope that we will see each other again one day in the hereafter. God bless you and your family in this time of sadness and loss. If there is anything that I can do to help in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will do my best to help out in any way I can. Respectfully yours, Edward L. Nagy MAJ, USA (Retired)