Private Harold J. Staats died on 20th September 1942 having sustained a gunshot wound to the head while on sentry duty at a U.S. military barracks in Belfast.
Private
20702456
Private Harold J. Staats (20702456) served in Northern Ireland Base Section, United States Army during the Second World War. Born on 30th August 1921, he was the son of Harley Douglas Staats and Auria Brown Staats of Iowa, U.S.A.
Staats died on 20th September 1942 aged 21 years old, having sustained a gunshot wound at a military barracks in Belfast.
An American soldier was shot dead shortly after going on sentry duty in Belfast yesterday. He was found severely wounded in the head and died on the way to hospital. There were no military witnesses of the shooting and the military authorities state that there were no suspicious civilians in the vicinity at the time.
Burial first took place on 22nd September 1942 at Glenalina Extension, ES, 44 of Belfast City Cemetery. A reburial later took place at Lisnabreeny American Military Cemetery, Belfast. After the war, Staats was repatriated to Plot D, Row 7, Grave 84 of Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridgeshire, England.