Joy McCoy
   The engagement of Joy McCoy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs., William L. Schmitz, South Gate, Calif., formerly of Minneapolis, to Cadet Harold A. Van Hout, son of Mrs. Bertha Van Hout, Ortonville, Minn., is announced by Miss McCoy's parents.
   Their marriage will take place in the Catholic chapel at West Point Military academy following the academy's graduation exercises June 5.

[Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, 22 Apr 1945, Sun, Page 52]

   By direction of the President... The Bronze Medal with the "V" Device for heroic achievement In connection with military operations against an armed enemy Is awarded to Captain Harold A. Van Hout Infantry, United States Army.
   On February 4, 1951, Captain Van Hout, company commander of Company "A", 187th Regimental Combat Team, led his company from the vicinity of Pambol, Korea, towards Hill 312 and Hill 289, across open rice fields to  the east. Deployed and moving In the open, Company A came under heavy enemy machine gun fire from concealed positions on Hill 312, which killed one man and wounded four others. Captain Van Hout led the company at a run towards the enemy-held hills In order that t

hey might have partial cover at the base of Hill 312.
   During this action the leading platoon leader was- killed and three riflemen wounded. Under the continued personal leadership of Captain Van Hout, Company A secured a commanding ground along a ridge north of Hill 312, from which position accurate fire was placed upon the enemy, inflicting casualties and facilitating a 'final assault .by "other friendly troops later that day,
   Leaving one platoon to contain the enemy remaining on Hill 312, in order to prevent enemy reinforcement from the east, Captain Van Hout led the remainder of his company to the north to seize-Hill 289, Because the ridge lines were exposed. Captain Van Hout was again forced to attack from low -ground and to advance over a rough, rocky hillside.
   Despite friendly artillery and mortar fire which supported the advance of Company A, the enemy held their positions and kept up a continuous machine gun and rifle fire. The lead rifle platoon leader, was seriously wounded just prior to reaching the final objective.
  . Despite the Intense and accurate enemy fire, Captain Van Hout ran forward in the open and, with the assistance of the platoon sergeant, carried his platoon leader to a position of safety where first aid could be administered. Captain Van Hout then directed the renewal of the attack, driving the enemy from Hill 289. Despite enemy prepared positions on commanding ground' of company strength with many automatic weapons, and despite losses of two officers and eight men during the action, Captain Van Hout seized his assigned objectives with a minimum of delay and thereby enabled other companies of the 1st Battalion to advance to the north.

HIS ACTIONS WERE IN KEEP-PING WITH THE HIGHEST TRADITIONS OF THE MILITARY SERVICE.

   Three days after the action described above, Captain Van Hout was wounded in the fighting outside Wonju, He was returned to Fort Campbell,-Kentucky, on March 29 and admitted to the Fort Campbell' Army Hospital as an ambulatory patient. He Is still undergoing special treatment there.
   Mrs. Van Hout and four children. Elizabeth Ann, 5; Gretchen, 3; Hank, Jr., 2; and Mary Ellen, 1; reside at Riverview Drive in Clarksville, Tennessee.
   Captain Van Hout, a graduate of the United States Military Academy, Class of 1945, Is a native of Ortonville, Minn.

[The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN, 27 Oct 1951, Sat, Page 9]

Capt. Van Hout Returns To Fort

   FORT CAMPBELL Captain Harold Van Hout who left Fort Campbell last September with the 187th Regimental Combat Team on the long trip to Korea, returned there Thursday, March 29, for convalescence and treatment at the U. S. Army Hospital.
   Captain Van Hout commanded 'A" Company of the 187th RCT until February 17 when he was wounded in the fighting outside Wonju. He returned to the United States Friday March 23 checking in at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., to await space on a C-47 to wing him the last lap of the homeward journey.
   But the captain wasn't the only one counting the days!
   Seven months ago when he left for Korea, his family elected to await the day of his return at their home on Riverview Drive in Clarksville,
   Ever since his call from San Francisco saying he'd soon be home, his wife and their four children, Elizabeth Ann, 5, Gretchen, 3, Mary Ellen, 1, increasingly expectant with each ring of the phone. One of Mrs. Van Hout's main concerns after talking to her husband was whether she'd have sufficient notice to gather her flock together in time to meet the Captain as he walked off the plane.
    Thanks to a call from the hospital early the morning, of his arrival at Campbell Air Force Base long before the C-47 from Travis circled the landing field at 10:45,
   With her were the children, and together they managed to make the captain's welcome most memorable.
   Captain Van Hout Is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Class of '45.
   His mother, Mrs.. Bertha Van Hout, lives In Ortonvllle, Minn. Mrs. Van Hout's family resides in South Gate, California.

[The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN, 31 Mar 1951, Sat, Page 2]

(courtesy of Barbara LeClaire]

Grave marker for Harold A. Van Hout in Lafayette Memorial Park, Fayetteville (Cumberland county),  North Carolina.

Harold served in the National Guard from rising Pvt to Sergeant in Company L, 35th Infantry Division from 30 Sep 1939 to 30 June 1942.

He was discharged on 30 June 1942 and entered the U,S. Military Academy, West Point, NY on 1 July 1942.  Three years later he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned a 2nd Lt on 5 June 1945.  A later news article punished in the Long Beach California Press-Telegram on 05 Oct 1950 stated Harold had been the commanding cadet officer of the Class of 1945.

Captain Van Hout, commanding Company A, 187th RCT,  was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with the "V" for Valor device for his actions in combat taking Hills 312 and 289 in the vicinity of Pambol, Korea.

Three days later he was seriously wounded in action at Wujon, Korea. He was evacuated and hospitalized but was able to return to his family on 3 March 1951.

He retired on 31 January 1974.