Private First Class Don Clair Freeman, father of Eric Freeman of Tryon and his sisters, Claire and Tracey,

was in the infantry of the US Army during World War II from 1942 to 1945.

He served in the 4th Armored Division under General George S. Patton. Don fought as a heavy machine gunner in the Rhineland Campaign, Ardennes and Central Europe. He received the Purple Heart for an injury received while fighting in the Ardennes Forest of Germany. He was 19 years old when he enlisted.

After the war, Don graduated from Harvard College, married, found a job, raised a family and became a gentleman farmer in Chagrin Falls and Hartsgrove, Ohio.

Don retired 30 years later as tax director of an iron ore and steamship company, Pickands Mather Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. Don and his wife, Betsy; son, Eric, and daughter, Tracey, moved to Tryon in 1978. Tracey is a 1979 graduate of Tryon High School. Eric works at Ingles in Landrum and is a volunteer fireman for Tryon.

In 2002, Don wrote this piece about his experiences in World War II:

Cold, Wet and Dangerous

My most vivid memory is pushing up to the front in the rain, in a soaking wet overcoat on December 19, 1944, on my 19th birthday.

I was cold and wet all the time. My feet were never dry. We carried “shoe packs,” which were rubber shoes like today’s LLBEAN rubber shoes. I carried dry socks inside my shirt.

Sometimes I carried wet socks inside my shirt and my body heat would dry them for me. I still can remember how miserable I felt, and I was not very hungry for our K-rations. We slept on the ground. I was an infantryman, a private first class, a foot soldier.

One night when we were out on patrol, we returned to learn there had been a drawing for a three-day pass to Luxembourg City. I had won! A truck picked me up and took me to town. We were housed in a building that once had been a school. Any words that were written on the walls of the building were in German. The school obviously had catered to German officers. We were fed hot food in the cafeteria and we had a warm bed for three days.

The Red Cross girls had no time for us “dog faces.” They spent all their time laughing with our officers. We highly resented the way they ignored us. I still think of that today when the Red Cross asks for donations. I find I would rather give to the Salvation Army because of the treatment we received during the war from the Red Cross.