WWII Sebastian Co Ar

Daniel Ringsmuth Harper
1925-2022

Photo shared by Vickie Graves Jones

Daniel Ringsmuth Harper was born April 23, 1925 at Mansfield, Sebastian Co., Ar. to George Roy & Mary Mikus Harper. December 23, 1948 he married Anne Fresson also from Mansfield.

April 24, 1943 Daniel registered for the military draft at Sebastian Co. Ar. He was still attending high school at that time. He enlisted in the US Navy July 17, 1943 and after basic training was assigned to the USS Tangier where he served until his discharge in February 1946. Some of the muster records from the time he served are below with a history of the ships activites while he served on board.

Daniel Ringsmuth Harper passed away April 20, 2022 at Fort Myers, Lee Co., Florida. His burial was in Fort Myers Memorial Garden.
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Daniel R. Harper, (Chief) beloved husband and father, went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Wednesday, April 20. At the time of his passing, he was at home surrounded by his family.

He was a man known for his intelligence, calm demeanor under any circumstances and leadership in both business and giving to the community. He was a local highway/heavy construction and mining trailblazer in Southwest Florida.

Harper was very involved in the construction and development of many well-known parts of Lee County as President and an owner of Harper Bros., Inc., the largest highway, earthmoving and mining company in Southwest Florida from the mid 1950's until its sale in 1999.

You cannot drive in any part of Lee County without travelling over a roadway built by Harper Bros. Many of the well-established subdivisions in the area were also constructed by the company under Mr. Harper's leadership, along with his partner of 60 years, Quinton McNew. Roadways such as I-75, Colonial Blvd., Summerlin Road, McGregor Blvd., Winkler Avenue, Radio Road, David Blvd., US 41, and Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway were built by the company.

Daniel was born in Mansfield Arkansas April 23, 1925, to Mary and George Harper. He served our country in World War II in the Pacific Theater as a member of the United States Navy. After leaving the Navy, he returned to his home in Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in civil engineering. He married Anne Presson in 1948. They moved to Fort Myers in 1951 and began a career in home building, later transitioning to site work and road building. His hard work ethic led Dan Harper to the successes he achieved, mentoring numerous people along the way, many of which are still very active in the local development community.

He is survived by his children Danah Cooper Averill (Ernie), Sharon Thompson (Brown), Shawn Harper (Becky), grandchildren Cari Tyler (Tim) Christi Jackson (Jon) Evan Thompson, Daniel Harper (Gloria) Shannon Najar (Matthew), great grandchildren Aylah, Cooper, & Ian Tyler, Brock Jackson, and James Najar. He is preceded in death by his wife Anne Harper.

Daniel and Anne Harper raised a loving family and contributed much to the local community for many years. Chief, as known to his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and his close friends had a heart big enough to love and care for everyone he would encounter. Daniel and Anne Harper founded the Daniel R. and Anne M. Harper Foundation, which currently supports a number of organizations through grants to local organizations assist in their mission to spread God's word, support research and cure of illnesses, quality education for young people and the hunger needs of homeless and displaced families and children. Harper Bros. annually performed construction work for many local organizations on a cost fee basis to help them achieve their missions, asking only that no publicity or special recognition be given. Mr. Harper was content to store up his treasures in Heaven.

Daniel was a long-time member of Redeemer Church formerly Cypress Lake Baptist Church.

A Funeral Service for Daniel will be celebrated by Pastor Sam Killman at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 30, 2022 inside the Chapel at Redeemer Church, 8400 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33919, (239) 481-5443. Guests will be received for Visitation for an hour preceding this ceremony beginning at 10:00 AM also inside the Church Sanctuary. Following conclusion of these ceremonies, guests will travel in procession under escort from the Lee County Sheriff's Office to Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 1589 Colonial Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida where Daniel will be laid to rest inside the Devotion Garden alongside his dearly departed wife Anne.

Biography below shared by Vickie Graves Jones
from Fighting Men of Arkansas

International Patents, 1890-2020
Inventor: Daniel R. Harper
Residence Place: Fort Myers Florida 33912
Patent Date: 28 Oct 1987
Patent Country: European Patent Office
Publication Date: 3 May 1989
Publication Number: EP0314273A1
Patent Description: ENDLESS TRACK DRIVE SYSTEM AND METHOD OF RETROFITTING ENDLESS TRACK DRIVE VEHICLES THEREWITH
Applicant: EDWARDS HARPER, EDWARDS HARPER MCNEW & CO, MCNEW AND COMPANY

Below the musters is a history of the movements of the USS Tangier while Daniel served there.

USS Tangier (AV-8) at anchor at Seeadler Harbor, in July 1944

Daniel R. Harper boarded the USS Tangier October 13, 1943 and served there until his discharge in February 1946.

USS Tangier
The second USS Tangier (AV-8) was a cargo ship, converted to a seaplane tender in the United States Navy during World War II.

1943
In September-October, she made two voyages from Pearl Harbor to American Samoa and one to San Diego, before returning to Espiritu Santo on 6 November with a load of aviation cargo. On the 14th, she headed back to the U.S., arriving in San Diego on 3 December for another yard overhaul.

1944
On 21 February 1944, Tangier again headed west. She reached Espiritu Santo on 8 March and-after a four-day layover-continued on to Brisbane, Australia, where she became the flagship of the Commander, Aircraft, 7th Fleet, on 21 March. Two days later, she headed north to support General MacArthur's advance up the back of the New Guinea "bird." After stops at Milne Bay and Langemak Bay, she dropped anchor in Seeadler Harbor, Manus, on 31 March. She remained there for three months, tending her Catalinas as they supported the landings at Wakde, Noemfoor, and Biak and generally supported the 7th Fleet's advance. On 31 July, she moved to Woendi Anchorage located just off Biak, at the head of the New Guinea "bird". Tangier conducted seaplane operations from there until 19 September, when she got underway for Morotai. The tender arrived off Morotai on the 21st, and supported the invasion-undergoing intermittent air attacks-until 1 December, when she headed back to Manus. She anchored in Seeadler Harbor again on 5 December. (photo made there)

Tangier visited Woendi again on 22-23 December then sailed for the Philippines. She entered Kossol Roads in the Palaus on Christmas Day and departed again the following day. On 29 December, she arrived in San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf, and began operating her seaplanes from there. For almost a month, her charges supported various operations in the Philippines. These included the Lingayen invasion and air strikes on the numerous smaller islands of the archipelago. In fact, their primary mission appears to have been air-sea rescue work in support of the air strikes.

1945
On 24 January 1945, Tangier departed Leyte and headed for Lingayen Gulf, arriving three days later. Her Catalinas and Mariners conducted night barrier patrols of Luzon Strait and the South China Sea along with night searches and anti-shipping flights along the China coast in the vicinity of Formosa. On 12 February, the seaplane tender moved to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, to run day searches over the South China Sea as far north as the coast of French Indochina and Hainan Island. She concluded operations from Mangarin Bay on 7 March and headed for Subic Bay, Luzon. She arrived there on the following day and departed on the 11th. Tangier anchored in Cabalitian Bay, off Cabalitian Island, on the 12th and commenced seaplane operations. For the next three months, her planes flew searches and antishipping missions over the South China Sea in the direction of Hong Kong, Swatow, and Formosa.

The seaplane tender exited Cabalitian Bay on 17 June and arrived in Subic Bay the following day. Soon thereafter, she moved to Manila Bay, departing there on 25 June. On the 27th, she stopped at San Pedro Bay; then continued east toward the U.S. She reached Pearl Harbor on 10 July and San Francisco on 20 July. She was overhauled at the Moore Dry Dock Co. and then ordered back to the Far East for occupation duty. On 24 September, she exited San Francisco and headed back across the broad Pacific. Sailing via Adak, Alaska, she reached the vicinity of Yokosuka during the second week in October. After two months of occupation duty in Japan, Tangier moved to Kowloon Bay, China in December for air-sea rescue, patrol, and courier duty. In January 1946, she returned to Japan for another brief tour of duty with the occupation forces. Late in February, she moved from Sasebo to Okinawa, where she remained until late March.