Harry Jack GRAY № 202

… Harry Jack GRUSIN (*1919, +2009) from Georgia (USA) served in World War II and took part in the Battle of the Bulge. With the 5th U. S. Infantry « Red Diamond » Division he was heavily involved in the Sauer river crossing at Diekirch on January 18, 1945 and thus contributed to the second and final liberation of Diekirch, after a first temporary liberation on September 11, 1944. Discharged as a captain, he was awarded the Silver Star for valor on the battlefield around Diekirch. Back home, Captain Harry Jack GRUSIN, changed his surname to GRAY in 1951 and became a renowned multinational industrialist – among others he was CEO and Chairman of the United Technologies Corporation. UTC researched, developed and manufactured products in numerous areas including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning], elevators [OTIS Elevator] and escalators, fire, security [and] building automation […]. UTC was also a large military contractor. Beyond this, WWII veteran GRAY became a widely interested philanthropist. In memory of the dramatic battle scenes in 1944-1945, he provided moral, conceptual and financial support for the building of the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch (MNHM), which does have extensive exhibits about the Battle of the Bulge and other WWII events. Thanks to his unconditional and everlasting commitment to the museum, a dramatic recreation of the « Sauer river crossing » in form of a life-size diorama can be seen at the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch. (bp, fg, rg, bn, jba, jb, 2025-01-18)

Harry Jack GRUSIN a.k.a. Harry Jack GRAY, pictured in 1944 (left) and Harry Jack GRAY as CEO and Chairman of UTC-Industries (right). [Pictures: left, Roland GAUL in: 1944-1945, Schicksale zwischen Sauer und Our, Soldaten und Zivilpersonen erzählen, Eine historische Collage von Roland GAUL, Band II, Aus amerikanischer und ziviler Sicht, 1987, p. 272; right, NBI_NN)

Original Sauer Crossing scene near Bettendorf in 1944-1945 pictured by US Army (left) and Sauer Crosssing Diorama at the National Museum of Military History of Luxembourg (MNHM) in Diekirch by bp_Oct. 7, 2024 (right).

Three Sauer Crossings in Diekirch area: Red lightning bolts point to the 5 blown-up railway and road bridges, black circles indicate river crossing locations, black dashed lines mean railway tracks, grayisch continous lines stand for roads, blue bands represent river Sauer and confluent Alzette, arrow headed lines show progression of American troops, e.g. 1st (orange), 2nd (red) and 3rd (salmon) Bataillon of 2nd Infantry Regiment of the 5th US Infantry Division and green dotted lines mark the frontlines from 18.01.1945 to 21.01.1945. [Original plan in B&W by Roland GAUL in: 1944-1945, Schicksale zwischen Sauer und Our, Soldaten und Zivilpersonen erzählen, Eine historische Collage von Roland GAUL, Band II, Aus amerikanischer und ziviler Sicht, 1987, p. 271; redesigned, extended to the east and completed: bp_2024]