Harold Dean Hupp

World War II

Harold Dean Hupp (known by many as Dean) was born near Coon Rapids, IA on October 7, 1926, to Clarence and Mabel (Tuel) Hupp. Dean attended country school and graduated from Coon Rapids High School in 1944. He registered for the military draft on October 7, 1944, (his 18th birthday) and listed his employer as C.A. Yager in Coon Rapids.

Dean was inducted into the US Army on February 15, 1945, at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was assigned serial number 37761925. The location of his initial training is unknown. By August, 1945, he had been assigned to Company H, 4th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. On August 18, 1945, Dean left the United States to join his unit. The Japanese Empire had surrendered three days prior to his departure.

The 25th Division had been involved in extended heavy fighting on the Philippine island of Luzon in the last months of the Pacific war. They had been taken off the line on June 30, 1945. Dean arrived in time to move with the 25th Division to Japan as part of the Army of Occupation. Headquarters were established in September, 1945 in the city of Nagoya. The 25th Division left Luzon on September 20 and landed at Nagoya in early October. They immediately began disarming all Japanese forces and destroying all Japanese military equipment in their area of responsibility.

January, 1946 saw an increase to the area of Japan served by the 25th Division that included the city of Osaka. However, Dean returned to the United States on January 6, 1946. Dean’s unit became internationally known for its kindness and assistance to the Japanese people including adopting a children’s orphanage.

He remained in active service and was sent overseas again on March 21, 1946, to a destination unknown. On May 2, 1946, he returned to the United States for the final time. Dean was discharged on July 9, 1946, as a Private First Class.

By 1950, Dean was employed in construction and, in June, 1951, he married Naomi Rinehart from Coon Rapids. By 1964, he was employed at the Aspinwall Cooperative, a job he was to hold until retirement. On August 19, 1978, he married Margaret Hoffman Brincks, formerly from Templeton. Dean lived the remainder of his life in Aspinwall and died in Manning, IA on November 12, 2000 at age 74. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.