By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Holland

When it came to the history of World War II and of the Ohio River towns of Clermont and Brown counties, Stanley Lee Holland was an expert. His knowledge came firsthand.

Mr. Holland was a decorated Army veteran of World War II who earned 15 medals - including the Bronze Star - for his efforts in battles including the invasion of Normandy. He also was born and raised in Moscow, Ohio - and returned to his riverside hometown after the war.

Mr. Holland died Dec. 2 at Mercy Anderson Hospital of coronary artery disease. The lifelong Moscow resident was 81.

"He was very popular in the community," said his son, Charles Holland of Pierce Township, "and a great source of historical information" for anyone seeking it.

Mr. Holland attended Moscow High School and left to work during the Depression. Eventually, he accepted a position at a Cincinnati-based machine tool company, Lodge and Shipley.

Then he entered the Army in 1943. Stationed in Western Europe as a member of the 6th Armored Cavalry Division, commanded by Gen. George Patton Jr., Mr. Holland fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

His unit was one of the first to cross the Rhine and took part in the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Honorably discharged in December 1945, he returned to Moscow and resumed his work as a field service engineer at Lodge and Shipley. He retired in 1974.

Mr. Holland played a pivotal role in the development of Moscow's Veteran's Memorial Park in the 1990s and, most recently, a tank memorial there.

He and his wife, Wilma, painstakingly researched Moscow and surrounding areas for the names of area veterans who served in conflicts as far back as the Civil War so they could be engraved on a plaque at the park.

People writing books on Moscow and Ohio River towns would use Mr. Holland as a reference, his son said.

Mr. Holland was a longtime volunteer for the American Cancer Society - having lost a son, Donald, to the disease.

In 1986 and '87, the society recognized him as volunteer of the year for Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties.

A lifetime member of the Felicity chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7496, Mr. Holland recently received the Clermont County Community Leadership Award for his efforts in the establishment of the memorial park.

Besides his son, Charles, and his wife of 62 years, Mr. Holland is survived by another son, James of Clermont County; a brother, Robert of New Richmond; six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Services have been held. Burial was in Vesper Cemetery, Neville, Ohio.

Memorials: Village of Moscow Memorial Park, c/o Village Administrator, 79 Elizabeth, Moscow, 45150.

E-mail: nhamilton@enquirer.com