Private Victor Joseph Harles was born in Missouri on February 22, 1894, the son of Andrew B. and Celia Harles. He lived with his parents and sister, Marcella, in St. Louis, Missouri, before moving temporarily to Norway, Maine, in 1916, where he worked as an artist. Harles and his parents were living in Clayton, Missouri, when he joined the United States Army 350th Infantry Regiment in 1918. He trained with the regiment's signal platoon at Camp Dodge, Iowa, between May and August 1918, and traveled to France in August 1918. He served there until the end of the war. In the spring of 1919, he joined the 88th Division "Show Troupe," with which he briefly toured France and Germany as a theatrical scenery painter. Harles returned to the United States in late May 1919, and was discharged in early June. Although Harles was engaged to a woman named "Lil" before traveling overseas, he called off the engagement after the end of the war. He later married a woman named Marie, and they settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Victor Joseph Harles died in July 1975.
From the guide to the Victor Harles papers, Harles, Victor papers, 1916-1919, 1918-1919, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
