Harry R. Moore

Harry R. Moore, 30-year resident of Whidbey Island, died Nov. 17, 2006 at Whidbey General Hospital after a short illness. He was born Oct. 21, 1921 in Camden, N.J., to Wesley and Florence Moore.

Harry joined the United States Marine Corps in 1940 and served his country in the military for 20 years. After boot camp at Parris Island he was assigned guard duty at Annapolis, and Eighth and I Barracks in Washington, D.C. In 1942 he was chosen to be a guard at the U.S. Embassy in London, at that time Eisenhower’s headquarters. In 1943 he joined the 3rd Marines in Bougainville, fought in the invasions of Guadacanal and Guam, and was held in reserve for the invasion of Iwo Jima. In 1946 he realized the dream of his life: he became a China Marine stationed in Tienjin, China. In 1951 he was stationed for eight months at the 38th Parallel, the front lines in Korea. He was later stationed in Okinawa in 1958 where he enjoyed introducing school boys there to American baseball.

While stationed in the U.S. he served as a recruiter in Hamilton, Ohio and as an instructor at Marine Corps Schools in Quantico, Va. He was proud to say he never had office hours, no brig time, no days lost, and five good conduct awards. He retired in 1960 as a master sergeant.

In his civilian life he was employed as a printer and news photographer at the San Clemente, Calif., Sun-Post newspaper from 1960 to 1976 and at the Oak Harbor Whidbey News- Times from 1976 to 1984. While living in San Clemente he discovered acting in community theater where he had roles in many plays, including lead roles in “You Can’t Take It with You” and “Arsenic and Old Lace.” When he retired in Coupeville, he spent eight years as a volunteer at Coupeville Elementary School and 14 years with the Beach Watchers accumulating more than 2,500 hours of volunteer work.

Harry lost the heart of his life, his wife Bernice, in 1994 after 40 years of marriage. They were married in an historic Presbyterian church in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The bell that rang at their wedding rang at the death of George Washington. Moore is survived by his daughter Sandra Moore of Coupeville.

A memorial service for Harry will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland on Saturday, Dec. 2.