'I was afraid of being killed'

Watch: Video of Gerald Heinen speaking about his experiences in World War Two.


On March 7, 1944, I became 18 years of age and — like all other male citizens of the United States — I was required to register for the draft. It didn’t take long; three months later I was drafted into the Army to fight in World War II. ...

We first landed in Liverpool, England, then took a train to Southampton, then crossed the English Channel on a landing ship. We arrived in Le Havre, France, in January 1945.

After the invasion of France by the U.S. and our allies and after many combat troops had lost their lives or been wounded, our armies pushed the Germans all the way back to their own borders. As the Army lost troops ... they had to be replaced with new men.

We were moved from Le Havre by truck to a position just behind the enemy lines. We were assigned as replacements to different divisions that had pulled back to regroup. ... I was assigned to the 253rd Infantry Division of the 7th Army.

The following night, we got ready to go into combat. ... We reached a small mountain and climbed to the top. We were then told to dig in. ... When it became light, we looked down into the valley on the other side and could see German troops. They were not yet aware of our presence. A little while later, two German soldiers came walking up the mountain and came close to us before they saw us. Instead of surrendering, they turned and started running. Several of us fired at them, and they were killed. That was my first experience of war, and it made me feel bad.

Soon thereafter, the Germans started firing artillery at us. Some of the shells would come close to our fox holes and throw dirt on us. I was afraid of being killed. We stayed in our positions about a week; then we were relieved and pulled back. ...

April 8, 1945, was my last day of combat. We had moved up to relieve some other troops. They were dug in, so we moved into their fox holes. The next morning, we started moving up to take another town. The Germans were making a stand. They were firing a machine gun with tracer bullets. ... They fired in bursts. When we saw the tracer bullets stop, we ran through. The tank leading the attack just ahead of us had stopped. Our captain went up to the tank to talk to the crew. He was shot in the neck. Four of us went to carry him back. After we carried him a short distance, I was shot in the left thigh. I fell to the ground. ... I stayed in the hospital about a month and was given therapy. While I was there, good news came. The war in Europe was over. No more fighting.

Submitted by Gerald Heinen, 81, of Oklahoma City, on the oklahomawwii.org Web site.