Remembering World War II: 'I was in 265 days of combat, and lived to tell the tale'
Veterans recall fighting on front lines of history

Two Oklahoma City men were on the front lines 60 years ago when World War II ended in Europe.

President Bush is in Europe to commemorate the anniversary; Robert Orbach and Earl Gonzales are at home with their memories of the battles that led up to that day in 1945.

Orbach was a 24-year-old first lieutenant taking part in the U.S. Army's liberation of the Czech village of Strakonice, the last one ripped from German control before the war in Europe was over.

"The whole thing was so dramatic, Orbach said Friday as he recounted that three-day stretch.

Orbach was part of the 4th Armored Division of Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army, which stormed through Europe two months after D-Day.

"We were the lead division in almost everything that happened in the European Theater, he said. "I was in 265 days of combat, and lived to tell the tale.

The fighting ended for Orbach on May 6, 1945, after his division thundered into Strakonice, routing the German soldiers before being ordered to stop.

"That was very, very unusual, he said. "We had the Germans on the run.

The Americans set up a command post in the largest house in the small city to wait for further orders.

Within minutes, Orbach said, a horde of old men and young boys armed with makeshift weapons surrounded the building to act as security. A group of women followed, their arms loaded with wine and beer that had been hidden from the Germans. Handmade American flags soon festooned every window.

"The Czechs were just delighted to see the Americans coming into the village, he said. "They just made us feel wonderfully at home.

Things cooled a little bit a couple of days later when the war ended with word that the Allies would leave Czechoslovakia to the Russians, Orbach said. The Soviet hammer and sickle quickly replaced the Stars and Stripes on flags around town.

The Russian army moved into Strakonice at the same time his division was pulling out.

Looking back, Orbach, 84, said V-E Day was kind of anti-climactic, since everyone in his division knew they likely were headed to Japan, but he ended up back in Oklahoma about three weeks later.

Orbach was sent to Fort Sill to teach artillery school because of his combat experience, but "by the time I got home, the war was over. Orbach ran a clothing store until his retirement.

Shock of the news Gonzales said he was on the outskirts of a small town in northern Germany, girding for another battle with the 935th Field Artillery Battalion, when the unit got word the war in Europe was over.

"We just stood there like stone soldiers, he said. "We didn't know what to do.

Rumblings that the Germans were on the verge of surrender had been circulating through the unit for much of the past year, Gonzales said, so no one knew what to think.

"All of a sudden, they said the war was over, and it was true. It was hard to believe.

Gonzales said he and his fellow soldiers had been fighting so long, it felt like the war never would end.

Once the fighting stopped, Gonzales and his unit returned to Hamel, where he was struck by how little the war had touched the town.

"We found there was a couple of breweries in that town, he said. "You can imagine what happened. There was just beer flowing all over.

Gonzales doesn't like beer, so he just hugged his brothers and talked about the prospect of returning home. The people of Hamel joined in the celebration.

"That's about the best thing that happened to me during the war, he said.

Gonzales was only 16 when he joined the Army in 1942, following his two older brothers into the service with his father's consent but against the wishes of his mother.

The brothers managed to stay together as they fought their way across Europe for three years, arraying light guns to support Allied infantry units.

"We all got busted up, said Gonzales, an upholsterer who is still working, "but we all came home safe.

Archive ID: 2410686