Harold Wadley

Harold Wadley, 91

Harold Edgar Wadley went to be with the Lord on January 11, 2026. He was born on January 16, 1934, in Berryhill, Oklahoma to Ernest Earl Wadley and Martha Rosetta (Bacon) Wadley. He received his first horse as a toddler and that began a lifelong love of horses. Harold joined the Marine Corps in 1951 at the age of 17 to fight in Korea during the last year of the war. He received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with V for Valor. After finishing his 3 years of service he began college where he met Gwen Burke whom he later married in January 1957. He finished college at Oklahoma A & M with a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry in 1958.



Harold began a career with the U.S. Forest Service in Wyoming. He and Gwen had three sons – Rance, Reed and Neal, and one daughter – Rose. Over the years the family moved to several forests and states (Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho) for his job. At one time he was director of a Forest Service Job Corps camp in Chadron, Nebraska. In 1967 Harold felt led to go back into the Marine Corps to help the young men in combat. He remembered that as a young Marine himself, he received much training and advice from those Marines who had fought in WWII. After much prayer he reenlisted and spent only a short time learning about new weapons before he was sent to Vietnam to join his 5th Marines. In September of 1967 during Operation Swift, he led his platoon through intense combat, engaging the enemy to evacuate the wounded, and was severely wounded himself. He spent the next 9 months in military hospitals recovering before he resumed his career with the Forest Service. He received various medals including a second Purple Heart, Silver Star with V for Valor, and Navy Commendation Medal with V for Valor.



Service to people in a foreign country was a desire for the Wadleys, so in 1972 Harold and Gwen joined the Peace Corps and began two years of service in Malaysia. This was during a short time that the Peace Corps allowed selected families to join. It had been limited to singles and couples. All six of the Wadley family headed for a great adventure. Harold worked as a forester helping young forest workers care for the forest while using its resources. Gwen taught English as a second language while mothering 4 young children. At the end of 2 years the family returned to America and Harold once again joined the Forest Service. They lived in various places and eventually ended up in St. Maries, Idaho where Harold was District Forest Ranger and served from 1976 to his retirement in 1986.



After working a few years with horses and fruit trees Harold again wanted some adventure, so in 1990 he began a 9-year period using his unique agroforestry skills to help people in the jungles of China. He worked for 3 years for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and 6 years with World Vision. He helped indigenous tribal people in the South China jungle area grow more food on less land to protect the land and wildlife. They could avoid the slash and burn method by planting village firewood plantations and using the plants growing in their area more effectively. In 1998 he was recognized for his humanitarian work by Prince Bernard of the Netherlands receiving the Order of the Golden Ark award from the prince himself. After his work in China he spent one semester teaching forestry at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas.



Finally, Harold spent the rest of his life on Indian Mountain raising and training horses and writing a book, "Spirit Blending Foals Before and After Birth, an Old Way Continued," which he published in 2003. While retired he learned that a statue to the Korean War horse, Reckless, was to be made and a book written about that wonderful horse. He was one of a few veterans who remembered Reckless. During the battle "Vegas" Harold was returning from an outpost to get something for his commanding officer when he saw Reckless climbing up the mountain to deliver more ammunition for her Recoilless Rifle Marines. He could not believe that any horse could go up and down that trail by herself under fire all the way. In 2013 he met Robin Hutton who was writing a book about Reckless and Jocelyn Russell who was to create a sculpture of Reckless. He offered to create a model pack saddle for Jocelyn using the pictures Marines took of Reckless carrying the ammo. Later he was proud to be a speaker at the dedication of statues in various places.



Just a few weeks ago Harold was honored to be inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. His grandson, William, and granddaughter, Kacie were there to accept the award for him.



He was a strong Christian after dedicating his life to the Lord while he was in college. He never wavered in his love for Jesus and care for people, especially children and young adults. He was proud of his children for their character, faith and accomplishments and he so enjoyed his grandchildren. He and Gwen were just a couple of weeks short of their 69th anniversary when he advanced to life in heaven.



He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Doris, Bonnie, Betty, and Jim, also his son Reed and his daughter-in-law Cathy. He is survived by his sister Charlotte, his wife Gwen, children Rance Wadley, Rose (Dave) Macklin and Neal (Chris) Wadley, all of his grandchildren, Kacie (Jonathan) Davis, Lacie (Derik) Crawford, William Wadley, TJ Wadley, Lucas (Dimyana) Wadley, Mark Macklin, Rachel (Adrian) Torrico, and Tessa Mackln, and great grandchildren, Brilee, Bailey, Olivia, and Wesley Davis, Katherine and Zoey Crawford.



Harold's funeral service will be held Sunday, January 18, at Harrison Community Baptist Church, Harrison, Idaho, and private internment will be held Monday, January 19 at Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Maries. Memorial donations are requested to be given to the mission fund of Harrison Community Baptist Church. You may leave his family condolences at hodgefuneralhome.com.