Living And Fighting During WWII

I have asked my Grandfather Clarence about life during World War II. This is what he told me his veteran story…………

“I was eighteen years old when World War II started. I was still eighteen when I was drafted. I served in the Army Infantry, P.F.C. in Europe. I served for three years.

I was rabbit hunting when I heard on the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. It was no real surprise to us since we had been expecting it.

I had my basic training at Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas. I volunteered for the Para-troop and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia. I was kicked out because I wore glasses. The kid who came with me broke both his ankles on his fifth jump. I was then sent to Tennessee with the eightieth infantry division.

I went overseas with them fourteen days after D- Day. We went over on the Queen Mary. It took seven days before we landed in Scotland. We re-grouped in England and then went to La Harve, France. We fought our way to Bastogne. I was hurt there in the “Battle of the Bulge” when the jeep I was driving was hit by enemy fire and turned over landing on top of me. I was sent back to the hospital in England for four months. I was then sent back to France. One day it came over the ship’s loudspeakers that the war in Europe was over! They put us on a train for fourteen days as they didn’t know what else to do with us. It was stenciled on the outside of each car ”40 men and 8 horses.”

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