John A. Stewart
PFC. John A. Stewart
Private First Class John A. Stewart — known to everyone as "Johnnie" — was born and raised in Glens Falls, New York. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Alphonse Stewart of 21 Elizabeth Street, he graduated from Glens Falls High School with the Class of 1943, and was soon after called to serve his country.
Assigned to the 33rd Armored Regiment — the backbone of Task Force Hogan — Johnnie saw plenty of action across France, Belgium, and Germany. He participated in the Battle of Normandy, fought through the breakout at Saint-Lô, and followed the 3rd Armored Division all the way to the German border.
In December 1944, his unit was part of the forces rushed south to face the German offensive in the Ardennes. The local press in Glens Falls ran an article titled "John Stewart's Unit Eludes German Trap" — a testament to how closely families at home followed the fate of their sons on the front.
"Pfc. John A. Stewart, better known to his many friends as 'Johnnie,' has seen plenty of action with Uncle Sam's Army since he left Glens Falls High School, graduating with the Class of 1943. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Alphonse Stewart, of 21 Elizabeth Street, Glens Falls, Johnnie is a member of the 33rd Armored Regiment, now in Germany."
Frank Garcin — Local press, Glens Falls, New York
The Return
After Germany's surrender in May 1945, Johnnie Stewart came home as thousands of GIs did — without fanfare, without warning. The family recalls that he hitchhiked from the port of Albany, riding in the back of a postal truck, and knocked on the door of his future wife's parents late at night, without having told anyone.
"I remember my mother telling me that when my father came home from the war, he hitchhiked from the port of Albany in the back of a postal truck and arrived unannounced at my mother's parents' home late at night — how things have changed."
— Testimony of the Stewart family
This discreet, almost furtive return says much about that generation. Men who had crossed Normandy, the Ardennes and Germany simply came home — without complaint, without boasting — and picked up their lives where they had left them.
A letter, November 1988
Decades after the war, John Stewart received a letter from a former comrade — signed "Fred Varello" — who recounted a trip to Europe retracing the footsteps of the 3rd Armored Division. The letter speaks of Marcouray, Namur, Liège, the beaches of Normandy, and fallen comrades buried in military cemeteries across Europe.
"With a hundred ways to die each day — I guess we were lucky to survive. It's too bad that we had to leave a lot of guys behind over there. In particular, Eddie King — one of the bravest men I ever met."
"Yes, I went through Liège but don't recall a monument, although I didn't really pursue research. I didn't spend very long there. Also visited Namur, Belgium, St. Lo, Mortain, Normandy beaches — right into Germany, etc. Do you remember the town of Marcouray — where we were trapped?"
Fred Varello — November 1988
Archives
The documents and photographs on this page come from the personal archives of the Stewart family. They include a press clipping from the Glens Falls newspaper, personal photographs taken during the campaign, and a private letter from a fellow veteran dated November 1988.
After the War
John A. Stewart lived a long life after the war. He passed away in 2017, at the age of 91, taking with him the memories of Marcouray, the snow-covered Ardennes, and the comrades with whom he had marched through the night of Christmas 1944. As his friend Fred Varello wrote in 1988: "I guess we were lucky to survive."
John Stewart was one of the last living witnesses of Task Force Hogan. His memory, and that of all the men who marched that night, is what this site seeks to preserve.
