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<em>Harvey Reed Fraser</em> was born in Elizabeth, IL, on Aug 11, 1916, the son of James Hiram and Ethel Reed Fraser. He graduated at the top of his class from Elizabeth High School in 1934, where he played football, baseball, basketball, and track and was the President of his class all four years. After a summer as a section hand on the Chicago Great Western Railroad, he completed a year at the University of Illinois College of Engineering. Harvey entered the United States Military Academy on Jul 1, 1935, and graduated tenth in a class of 456 in June 1939.</p>
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He was designated a distinguished graduate, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and was posted to Schofield Barracks in the Territory of Hawaii. He married Jean Mueller of Freeport, IL, on Jul 31, 1940, in the Post Chapel at Schofield. He was commanding Company A of the 3rd Engineer Combat Battalion on Dec 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack. Jean helped the war effort by radar tracking of ships and planes. Harvey and Jean stayed in Hawaii until the threat of Japanese landing passed, then moved to Camp White, OR, in September 1942. Harvey held several training and command positions with the 351st Engineer General Service Regiment at Camp White.</p>
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Harvey and Jean welcomed their son Harvey Reed Fraser Jr. on Father’s Day, Jun 20, 1943, at Fort Lewis, WA. Two days later Harvey left for England with his regiment where he spent the next 11 months building airfields in eastern England. Twelve days after the June 1944 Normandy Invasion Harvey entered the continent of Europe with the Brittany Base Section scheduled to build an entirely new seaport in Southern Brittany. The Allied advance on the continent moved so quickly that the port construction was cancelled and on Dec 13, 1944, Harvey was assigned to command the 51st Engineer Combat Battalion stationed in Marche, Belgium, doing roadwork and running sawmills in the First Army Rear Area. This command proved to be his finest hour. Three days after he took command of the Battalion, the German Ardennes Offensive hit, and his battalion was suddenly a front line unit distinguishing themselves fighting as Infantry Soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge. The unit was awarded a U.S. Presidential Unit Citation and the French Unit Croix de Guerre Citation with Silver Star for bravery during battle. The 51st built one of the first two floating bridges across the Rhine River at Remagen. In May 1945, with the war winding down, the 51st built the first floating bridge across the Danube River. Harvey inspired his unit by perching on the bridge’s far end as it was pushed across the river under incessant small arms fire.</p>
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At the end of the European war, Harvey was assigned to the Engineer section of the Third U.S. Army for occupation and rehabilitation duties. In November 1945 he was assigned to the Manhattan Engineer District at Oak Ridge, TN, as Operations Officer in the uranium enrichment plant. A second child, Janet Tracy Fraser, was born at Oak Ridge on Nov 16, 1946. He then attended California Institute of Technology for graduate study in Civil Engineering.</p>
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He was assigned to the U.S. Military Academy as an instructor in Mechanics and began a 17-year academic association with the Academy. In 1952 he received orders to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. On graduation he returned to West Point and was appointed Professor of Mechanics. As professor Harvey enhanced his knack for enthusiastic public speaking and loved to give pep talks at cadet football rallies. He became famous for his “hot body” lecture given in November before the Army-Navy football game. He said the lecture had something to do with thermodynamics. In 1955 he attended the University of Illinois for further study. A third child, Joan Kay Fraser, was born in Illinois on Sep 9, 1955. He was awarded a doctorate in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in 1956 and returned to West Point. Harvey and Jean went to Brussels, Belgium, in 1960 for study at the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics. He graduated with Distinction in 1961 and returned to West Point.</p>
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On Jun 30, 1965, Harvey retired from the Army as brigadier general and became Dean of Engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD. One year later, he was appointed President of this engineering college, a position he held for nine years. Upon retirement in 1975 he became Dean of Academic Affairs at Oregon Institute of Technology. In 1979 he planned full retirement but was recruited to become Academic Dean at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA. After five years he retired for the last time and moved to Mesa, AZ, relocating to Boulder, CO, in 1997.</p>
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Harvey’s experience and expertise continued to be tapped as he served on the board of MDU Resources from 1971 to 1987. In April 1976 he received the University of Illinois Alumni Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering and in November 1999 he was the recipient of the Patton Award from the George S. Patton Memorial Museum in Chiriaco Summit, CA.</p>
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From the time Harvey arrived at West Point as a plebe in 1935 until the time he retired there as a brigadier general thirty years later, he was the definition of the West Point spirit. Always enthusiastic, he clearly enjoyed accomplishing missions in his unique style, a style which maximized efficiency and minimized political considerations. He was guided by the principles of Duty, Honor, Country. This world needs more Harvey Frasers. We miss him greatly.</p>
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—<em>Family & FMH Jr.</em></p>