[4] Before and after his service during World War I, Haney attended the Arkansas State Normal School, a teacher training college, where he played on the baseball team.

[17][18] In World War II, Haney fought in the battles of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Talasea, and Peleliu with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, where he was one of the oldest to fight in the regiment.

[8][19] Eugene Sledge noted many eccentric "old breed" behaviors from Haney, including scrubbing his genitals with a stiff brush, field stripping and cleaning his rifle compulsively, talking to himself, and being "obsessed with bayoneting the enemy.

"[20] Sledge witnessed Haney, a non-commissioned officer, angrily throw coral gravel into the face of a second lieutenant, furiously berating him for not keeping his pistol pointed downrange during a firing exercise.

[23] At the conclusion of the fighting, Sledge asked Haney what he thought of the battle as they shared a cigarette, looking at Peleliu from their ship's railing: Instead of the usual old salt comment—something like, "You think that was bad, you oughta been in the old Corps,"—Haney answered with an unexpected, "Boy, that was terrible!

[1] At the Battle of Cape Gloucester, Haney received a Silver Star for heroic actions against the enemy, carrying ammunition to the front lines during the thickest of the fighting for Walt's Ridge.

Platoon Sergeant Haney's daring initiative and selfless devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.