by Steve Browne 

When Henry “Hank” Holden was born in a chicken coop on what is now Valley View Farm south of Valley City on Barnes County Highway 21, he was premature, sickly, and his family feared he wouldn’t live.
Ninety-one years later, he’s still going strong, and 65 years after surviving 350 days of continuous combat, he finally got the medals he earned in the second World War.
At a ceremony in the Tower City Community Hall on Friday evening, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., said, “It’s a long overdue gesture from our country of gratitude for his service. It’s truly a great honor to track down the veterans who earned these awards, and I don’t think there’s anything we do that makes us feel any better than that.”
Holden joined the army in April 1941 and served in campaigns in Algeria, French Morocco, Tunisia and Italy, according to Pomeroy’s office.
In fighting against Field Marshall Erwin Rommel’s crack Afrika Korps, Holden’s unit, the 34th Infantry Division, was pushed back and lost communication with its air and artillery support after a communications cable was cut by artillery. Holden volunteered to crawl forward under fire, found the line and spliced it. With communications restored, the unit was able to go back on the offensive.

For full story, see Monday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record.