Major General Ernest Nason Harmon (February 26, 1894 – November 13, 1979) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in both World War I and World War II, and is best known for his actions in reorganizing the 1st Armored Division after the debacle in February 1943 at the Battle of Kasserine Pass during the Tunisian campaign.
Early life
Ernest Nason Harmon was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of Ernest and Junietta (Spaulding) Harmon. He was orphaned at age ten, and was raised by relatives in the Newbury, Vermont village of West Newbury. He was educated in West Newbury and graduated from the Bradford Academy in 1912. He attended Norwich University for a year, and then, in 1913, received an appointment to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York. While there, he rode horses, played football and hockey, and was a member of the boxing team. Following his graduation on April 20, 1917, exactly two weeks after the American entry into World War I, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Cavalry Branch of the United States Army. Among his fellow graduates at West Point were Matthew Ridgway, J. Lawton Collins, Mark W. Clark, William W. Eagles, Norman Cota, Robert W. Hasbrouck, Laurence B. Keiser, Charles H. Gerhardt, George H. Weems, William C. McMahon, Frederick Augustus Irving, Theodore Leslie Futch, John M. Devine, Raymond E. S. Williamson, Bryant Moore and William Kelly Harrison Jr. Like Harmon, all of these men would later become general officers, with Ridgway and Collins becoming U.S. Army Chief of Staff. In August 1917 Harmon married M. Leona Tuxbury: they had two daughters, Barbara Roll and Jeanne Oliver, and three sons, Halsey, Robert and Ernest Jr.
World War I
Harmon was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Ethan Allen, which was followed by duty at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
In March 1918, Harmon went to France with F Troop, 2nd Cavalry. The 2nd Cavalry was the only Cavalry unit to go overseas during World War I, and B, D, F, and H Troops became the last horse-mounted U.S. Cavalry units to ever engage an enemy in combat. Harmon served in the Baccarat Sector, at Camp du Valdahon, the St. Mihiel Offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He served in France and Belgium after the war, and returned to the U.S. in June 1919 to become a student at the Fort Riley, Kansas Cavalry School.
Between the wars
In August 1921, Harmon was assigned to West Point as an instructor in Mechanical Drawing, and his additional duties included backfield coach for the football team, and coach of the school's first lacrosse team. In the summer of 1924 he went to France with three other officers to compete in the modern pentathlon in that year's summer Olympic Games. Harmon placed fifth in shooting, 37th in swimming, 27th in fencing, 32nd in equestrian, and 26th in the cross country run. He finished tied for 31st overall (out of 38 contestants), and athletes from Sweden claimed the first three places.
Harmon's subsequent assignments included the 6th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and four years as Professor of Military Science and Commandant of Cadets at Norwich University. In 1933, after being promoted to major in November 1932, Harmon graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and he was a 1934 graduate of the United States Army War College. He then commanded a squadron of the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, which was followed by four years in the logistics staff directorate (G4) on the War Department General Staff. Harmon was briefly assistant chief of staff for I Armored Corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was then assigned to serve as chief of staff to Adna R. Chaffee Jr. during Chaffee's command of the U.S. Army's newly-organized Armored Force. On July 1, 1940 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then again to colonel in the Army of the United States (AUS) on November 4, 1941.
World War II
The United States entered World War II shortly after Harmon's promotion in December 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For seven months, from July 1942 until February 1943, Harmon commanded the 2nd Armored Division and trained the division for eventual overseas service. During this time he was promoted twice, to brigadier general (AUS) on March 13, 1942, and to major general barely five months later, on August 9.