War As My Fathers Tank Battalion Knew It

The most recent episode of War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It was about Bob Levine, who recently passed away at the age of 97. It was Bob who said to me, "If you want stories, you've got to interview prisoners of war," and that's what got me started doing just that. Today I'd like you to meet Hal Mapes, one of those POWs. If you like what you hear, I have a modest request. Since I launched my first web site, tankbooks.com, 25 years ago, I've posted hundreds of pages of stories, interviews, whole books and audio clips available for free. Lately the costs of hosting and producing and maintaining content have risen sharply. A small donation, if you can afford it, will help this podcast grow and the audio and print on my web sites expand. Donate via Paypal More links tankbooks.com (Your donation will help improve my original site, which is in desperate need of a redesign) Aaronelson.com War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It Another way to donate: Buy me a coffee (click on the pic)

Bob Levine was among the first replacements in the 90th Infantry Division in Normandy. He was wounded and captured in the battle for Hill 122, and had a leg amputated by a German doctor. Decades later, with the help of historian Henri Levaufre of Perier, Bob was able to meet the family of the German physician. Bob's interview is included in my collection of prisoner of war interviews, and his story is in my book They Were All Young Kids, about Lieutenant Jim Flowers and Hill 122, which also is the subject of several earlier episodes of the podcast. Thank you for listening to War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It. I hope you will consider supporting the podcast by purchasing one of my books or audiobooks at amazon, eBay or aaronelson.com. Or you could buy me a cuppa coffee at buymeacoffee.com. Thanks a latte for your support.

   George Noorigian is one of the fliers featured in my new book, "Up Above the Clouds to Die," about the most spectacular air battle you've probably never heard of.    Read an excerpt from the book at aaronelson.com or check out the "Look Inside the Book" feature at amazon.    This episode is my full interview with Noorigian, which is excerpted in the book.

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. In 2005 I recorded this interview with Dr. Jack Prior, a battalion surgeon in the 10th Armored Division. If you've seen Band of Brothers, and who hasn't, you'll likely remember the young Belgian nurse who has a romance with an American soldier, and is killed in the shelling. The real-life nurse on whom the character is based was Renee Lemaire, the "Angel of Bastogne," who was killed on Christmas Eve when Dr. Prior's makeshift hospital was bombed, and was buried in a parachute she had hoped to use to make her wedding dress. If you'd like to support this podcast, please visit my author web site, aaronelson.com, and order a print or audiobook; or check out my ebay store. And leave a review on whichever site you listen to. The usual suspects: aaronelson.com myfatherstankbattalion.com Aaron's eBay store The Mathew Caruso story  

Thank you for sticking with War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It for the past three months while I was rewriting and expanding my first book, Tanks for the Memories, now available at aaronelson.com, ebay and amazon. War As My Father's Tank Battalion is about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in particular. Bob Hamant was a Marine who spent a year on the island of Tinian.

First off, I want to thank all of the listeners who stuck with Myfatherstankbattalion through a three month hiatus while I worked on the greatly expanded third edition of Tanks for the Memories, which is now available at Amazon in paperback, hardcover and for Kindle and will soon be available on my web site. As War As My Father's Tank Battalion approaches its 100th episode, there will be some changes in the format, where I will be interviewing historians and authors about their work, in addition to adding great audio clips from my conversations with veterans. The usual suspects: War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It Aaron Elson's flagship author site https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com Semper Fi, Padre: The Mathew Caruso story Tankbooks.com: Aaron's first web site, launched in 1997  

  In this episode, we meet Ed Hays, a B17 tail gunner who in 1998 traveled to Germany to meet the German fighter pilot who shot his plane down and who, in turn, was shot down by Ed's crew. But first a couple of announcements. I'll be exhibiting at the Greenwood Lake 2021 Air Show August 13 to 15, which is always a spectacular event. If you attend, be sure to stop by and say hello. And over the Labor Day Weekend, September 3 thru 6, I'll be exhibiting at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Museum Air Fest in Wildwood, New Jersey. Also, please check out the new Myfatherstankbattalion page on Facebook and give it a like. Now, back to Ed Hays and his amazing story.      

War has a way a producing iconic sayings, from "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" at Bunker Hill in the American Revolution, to "I've not yet begun to fight" in the War of 1812, to "Retreat Hell! We just got here" at Belleau Wood in World War I, to "By the grace of god and a few Marines MacArthur returned to the Philippines" in World War II. Part 2 of my 2000 interview with Karnig Thomasian features another iconic phrase from World War II: Extract Digit, the meaning of which I'll let Karnig explain during the interview.

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. Where I used to live in New Jersey there was a remarkable group of ex-prisoners of war. There was Ed Hays of Ridgewood, who traveled with his family to Berlin to meet the German fighter pilot who shot down his B-17. There was Tim Dyas, also of Ridgewood, who parachuted into the middle of the Herman Goering Panzer Division. There was Hal Mapes, the only survivor of the crew of his B-17. Across the street from me in Hackensack was Bernie Levine, who took part in what likely was the only Jewish prayer service in a Nazi prison camp. There was Bob Levine of River Edge, who would one day meet the family of the German doctor who amputated his leg. Also in River Edge there was Karnig Thomasian, a B-29 veteran of the China-Burma-India theater who became a prisoner of the Japanese. For more information and episodes: Myfatherstankbattalion.com Aaronelson.com  

Thank you for listening to War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It, a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'd like to give a shoutout to Naval Air Station Wildwood, which invited me to exhibit at their recent Wings & Things event, and also to the Reading, Pennsylvania World War II Weekend. Which brings me to today's episode. At Wildwood, a visitor to my display asked if any of the episodes were about the Great Depression. I said no, but the next episode will be. So today you'll hear from Dan Diel, the son of a sharecropper  who earned a battlefield commission despite having only an eighth grade education; Tim Dyas, a prisoner of war who credited the Great Depression with helping him survive the starvation of prison camp; Dona Schmidt, who traveled with her family from Texas to California at the height of the Dust Bowl; Kay Brainard Hutchins, who was in Florida when the real estate Boom went bust; John Ray Lemons, whose family had to move every 30 days when the rent was due; John Knox, who couldn't afford a Monopoly set so he borrowed a friend's set, got some cardboard and made his own; and Bob Rossi, who flashed back to a tragic fire in Jersey City when he saw a friend at an intersection during the Battle of the Bulge. Like the podcast on Facebook oralhistoryaudiobooks Follow Aaron on Twitter @aaronelson1 aaronelson.com War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It

Part 2 of my 1994 interview with Don and Evelyn Knapp was quite a surprise, as it includes a discussion of my first book, Tanks for the Memories. Don passed away recently at 102 years of age. I found it interesting to hear me talking 27 years ago about my plans for the future. It would be three years before I launched my first web site. Audiobooks were on tape and not CD, and podcasting was not yet a thing. I'm Aaron Elson. Thank you for listening. The usual suspects Myfatherstankbattalion.com aaronelson.com oralhistoryaudiobooks.com Mentioned in the interview: The Magnificent Bastards

Don Knapp passed away last week. He was 102 years old. "I was no hero," Don said when I interviewed him in 1994 at the Cincinnati reunion of the 712th Tank Battalion. More than a thousand people who posted reactions and comments in the Battle of the Bulge Facebook group on the notice of his passing would beg to differ. Incidentally, it was the second time Don went viral. The first was eight years earlier when he posted a picture of himself holding a sign that said "I went golfing on my 94th birthday and shot a hole in one. How many likes can I get for that?" Don is survived by his wife of more than 75 years, Evelyn, and a large and loving family. That 1994 interview touches on several of the major events in the history of C Company: the battles for Hill 122, which encompasses nine previous episodes of the podcast; and Pfaffenheck, which is told in three earlier episodes. In between he was involved in the Sept. 8, 1944 battle with the 106th Panzer Brigade at Mairy, France; the monthlong standoff in Maizieres les Metz, and the crossing of the Saar River at Dillingen, where my father was wounded. Along the way he gives insight into the character and personality of several of the men of C Company who appear from time to time in other episodes. If you'd like to know a bit more about your host -- moi -- I recently was interviewed by a pair of podcasts, The Journalism Salute, about my dual career in newspapers and oral history; and the Truckers Network Radio Show with host Shelley Johnson.

  While crossing the Atlantic on his way to join my father's 712th Tank Battalion as a replacement, Billy Wolfe wrote in a letter to his mother and sisters, "The ocean is so blue it looks like I could dip my pen and write with it." Those words have always stuck with me. Billy burned to death in a tank just two weeks after joining the battalion. He was 18 years old.    Karnig Thomasian, a gunner on a B29 in the China-Burma-India theater, became a prisoner of the Japanese after his plane exploded on his third mission. In this episode, he remembers a promise he and a buddy made to the friend's father that they would take care of each other.    My father, Lieutenant Maurice Elson, always said he replaced the first lieutenant in the battalion to be killed. That lieutenant was George Tarr. His company commander, Cliff Merrill, reminisces about the train ride from Fort Jackson to Camp Myles Standish and an assignment he gave to Lieutenant Tarr to keep him from worrying about his wife and newborn son as they prepared to go into combat.    Erlyn Jensen's brother, Major Don McCoy, perished on the ill-fated Kassel Mission of Sept. 27, 1944. In this episode, Erlyn talks about how she and her sister got her mother to join a group of Gold Star mothers, and about a trip her mother took to see her son's grave at St. Avold.    Malcolm McGregor, a survivor of the Kassel Mission and former prisoner of war, talks about a young bombardier who was full of confidence.    George Collar, a bombardier and co-founder of the Kassel Mission Memorial Association, now the Kassel Mission Historical Society, talks about meeting the parents of a flier whose remains George recovered after the battle.    Tim Dyas talks about visiting the father of a soldier who died in prison camp.    Russell Loop, a gunner in C Company of the 712th Tank Battalion, remembers Jack Mantell, a buddy who was killed in the battle at Pfaffenheck, in the same battle where Billy Wolfe lost his life.    Lou Putnoky, a Coast Guard veteran of the USS Bayfield, the flagship of the Utah Beach invasion fleet, recalls a sailor from his hometown who was washed overboard from the battleship Nevada.    A death in combat reverberates throughout the lives of the living, often for generations. Some of the stories are told at greater length in other episodes of War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It, a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general.    Speaking of World War II, I'll be exhibiting the podcast, my books and audio CDs at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's World War II Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania June 4-6. If you're among the thousands in attendance, I hope you'll stop by the hangar and say hello! The usual suspects: aaronelson.com War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It WW2 Oral History Audiobooks The Mathew Caruso Story  

Distinguished Service Cross recipient Jim Flowers lost parts of both legs in Normandy. Pfc. Bob Levine, who was following one of Flowers' tanks when he was wounded and captured, had a leg amputated by a German surgeon. Lieutenant Jim Gifford was struck by a bullet which protruded from his head near his right eye. Corporal Jim Rothschadl, Lieutenant Flowers' gunner, was badly burned after his tank burst into flames. These accounts portray a vivid picture of medical treatment during the war, and the often unsung heroism of the doctors and nurses who treated the injured. On Friday-Sunday June 4-6, I'll be exhibiting in the hangar at the Mid Atlantic Museum World War II Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania. This is one of the great WW2 events, and usually draws ten to twenty thousand visitors. If you attend, be sure to stop by in the hangar and say hello. Thank you for listening to War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It, a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. For more of the individual stories of the veterans in this episode, check out some of the earlier episodes, especially those on Hill 122 and the Battle of the Bulge. The usual suspects: aaronelson.com World War II Oral History Audiobooks War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It Semper Fi, Padre: The Mathew Caruso Story tankbooks.com    

Combat engineer Chuck Hurlbut landed on Omaha Beach in the early morning hours of D-Day. His compelling interview is included in my Oral History Audiobook "The D-Day Tapes," along with six other interviews, available in my eBay store and at oralhistoryaudiobooks.com. Speaking of D-Day, I'll be exhibiting my work at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum World War II Weekend Friday through Sunday, June 4-6 in Reading, Pennsylvania. This is a premier event and draws hundreds of re-enactors, thousands of attendees, and several World War II veterans available to tell their stories and sign autographs. If you should go, be sure to look for me in the Hangar. War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. Thank you for listening. I'm Aaron Elson. For more information: Five D-Day Veterans Talkin' Saving Private Ryan The D-Day Tapes War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It aaronelson.com My eBay store        

Faced with a choice of joining the Army, the Marines or the Navy, Angelo Crapanzano asked his father, who served aboard a submarine tender in World War I, for advice. Join the Navy, his dad said. You'll eat well, and have a place to sleep. So Angelo joined the Navy and became a motor machinist's mate first class aboard LST 507. His father didn't tell him about torpedoes, Angelo said when I interviewed him in 1994. Tiger Burning The usual suspects: https://myfatherstankbattalion.com https://aaronelson.com https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com http://www.tankbookscom

In 1994 I read "The Forgotten Dead," by Ken Small, about Exercise Tiger, the ill-fated practice landing for D-Day sometimes known as Slapton Sands, a stretch of beach on the English coast that resembled Utah Beach. In the middle of the night German e-boats, torpedo carrying surface boats. infiltrated the convoy and sank two fully loaded LSTs and badly damaged a third. Angelo Crapanzano was at his battle station in the auxiliary engine room of LST 507 when the torpedo struck. The photo shows Angelo's memorabilia book. The page on the left contains his watch, which was smashed at 2:03 a.m. on April 28, 1944; and the number of his LST made from a set of feeler gauges he had on him when he jumped into the English Channel. The page on the right has a picture of the 507 with the saying "Thank god we're on a flat bottomed amphibious LST and will not have to worry about torpedoes." Angelo's interview is included in my oral history audiobook "The D-Day Tapes" available in my eBay store, and a transcript is in my book "A Mile in Their Shoes: Conversations With Veterans of World War II." Further resources: The Forgotten Dead The Exercise Tiger Memorial A Mile in Their Shoes The D-Day Tapes The usual suspects aaronelson.com War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It (the podcast) tankbooks.com        

   Occasionally when doing an interview, I'm treated to a bit of ancillary history. Once, when I was listening to the tape of an interview with a D-Day, I was annoyed by a radio playing in an adjacent room. Then I realized the veteran's wife was listening to a basketball game, and that it was a Knicks playoff game. That was kind of cool, I thought, as it brought back memories of my years working in the sports department of the New York Post, where I began a five decade career, as a newspaper copy editor.    Charles Vorhees was a tank driver who was involved in two important episodes in lmy father's tank battalion's history. He was there when Quentin "Pine Valley" Bynum was killed at Bras, Luxembourg, during the Battle of the Bulge, and he was wounded in the explosion that killed Lieutenant Ed Forrest. As the interview was winding down, he was talking about his family, and I asked if he had any siblings. He had a sister, he said. And then he said she disappeared.    She disappeared?    Yes, he said.    Sandwiched between the kidnaping of the Lindbergh baby and the trial of O.J. Simpson, a strong candidate for the Crime of the Century was the 1977 murder of the Brach candy heiress: Helen Vorhees Brach. Charles' sister was a coat check girl who married the founder of the Brach candy company, makers of candy corn for Halloween, jelly beans for Easter, chocolate covered raisins and a slew of other treats.    Her disappearance has never been solved, although a man she took up with following her husband's death was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, sentenced to life in prison, and was released in 2019 at age 87. There have been several books and TV specials, as well as a number of true crime podcasts about the case.    But now, back to World War II and my interview with Charles Vorhees who talks about his sister near the end of the tape. I'm Aaron Elson. Thank you for listening, and please, consider supporting War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It by checking out my books at amazon and the interview CDs in my eBay store. Richard Bailey released from prison The usual suspects: Aaron's eBay store Myfatherstankbattalion.com aaronelson.com oralhistoryaudiobooks.com The Mathew Caruso story

April 3, 1945 was a tragic day in the history of the 712th Tank Battalion. A Company had just occupied the village of Heimboldshausen, Germany, and established its command post in the basement of a house facing a small railroad siding. Several rail cars were parked at the siding, on the other side of which was a wide open field. Unkbeknownst to the tankers, one rail car was filled with bags of black powder for propelling artillery; two others were empty, but fume-filled, gasoline tanker cars. At about 6 p.m. a German fighter plane, a Messerschmitt 109, flew in low over the open field, firing at the rail cars, while numerous soldiers in the village fired back at the plane. Suddenly there was a huge explosion. Veterans of A Company recalled the blast as being caused by a lone bomb dropped by the fighter plane on the carload of black powder. In actuality, bullets, either from the plane or the village, struck one of the gasoline tanker cars causing an explosion similar to the blast that destroyed TWA Flight 800, which was determined to be caused by a spark that ignited an empty center fuel tank. Charles Vorhees, of Hopedale, Ohio, was wounded in the explosion, which claimed the lives of five members of A Company. In this interview, he gives a vivid description of the events leading up to the blast. War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. Thank you for listening. Check out the great deals in my eBay store: World War II Oral History The usual suspects: https://myfatherstankbattalion.com aaronelson.com oralhistoryaudiobooks.com mathewcaruso.com  

93-POUND GIRL IS HEROINE OF FIRE    Jersey City, N.J., Dec. 30, 1937 -- (AP) -- Two score men stood by today ready to give blood transfusions to a 93-pound blond heroine of the Plaza hotel fire who stuck to her switchboard yesterday arousing guests as she beat out her blazing clothing with her hands.    Among the last to flee the fire fatal to two other hotel employes, 26-year-old HELEN SULLIVAN had to run through a wall of flame in the lobby, and staggered into the street so badly burned no one at first recognized her.    Part of her dress was burned off, and her, face, chest and hands were burned.    Nearly delirious from pain when she reached the medical center she asked about an aged widow and an aged couple who lived at the hotel. Told all the guests were saved, her flame-blackened face lighted with a smile. --Jefferson City Post-Tribune Missouri 1937-12-30   War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. Excerpts from this interview with Bob Rossi appear in other episodes, especially the ones about the battle of Pfaffenheck, "Once Upon a Tank in the Battle of the Bulge," and "The Iron Cross and a Three Day Pass." This interview is included in my oral history audiobook "Once Upon a Tank in the Battle of the Bulge." Thank you for listening. In case you missed it: Bob Rossi, Part 1 The usual suspects: https://aaronelson.com https://myfatherstankbattalion.com https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com https://mathewcaruso.com https://tankbooks.com Save the date: Jun 4-6 2021 I'll be in the hangar at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum World War II Weekend in Reading, Pa. It's always a great event. If you go, be sure to stop by and say hello, and tell me you've heard the podcast!

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. This interview with Bob Rossi is included in my oral history audiobook "Once Upon a Tank in the Battle of the Bulge." In this episode, there are "cameos" from my interviews with Stanley Klapkowski and Tony D'Arpino, who are mentioned in Bob's interview. Thank you for listening. The usual suspects: https://aaronelson.com https://myfatherstankbattalion.com https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com https://mathewcaruso.com https://tankbooks.com  

When I began interviewing veterans of my father's tank battalion, I heard several stories about George Bussell. Forrest Dixon said Bussell was so heavy he had to shimmy into the tank. Ruby Goldstein and Bussell got into a barroom brawl in Phenix City, Alabama. Dixon told of the time Bussell drove his tank over three German motorcycles, and the time the pontoon bridge across the Saar River was shot out just behind him and Dixon yelled into the radio "Sergeant Bussell, give her hell or you'll drown!" Bussell didn't come to the reunions, so in 1993 I visited him at his home in Indianapolis. The usual suspects: The flagship: aaronelson.com The podcast: myfatherstankbattalion.com Book and audiobook excerpts The Mathew Caruso Story George Bussell interview transcript Aaron's eBay store

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. Nick Paciullo enlisted in the Marines when he was 17 and fought with the 4th Marine Division on Iwo Jima, Saipan, Tinian and Kwajalein. This interview took place on Sept. 4, 2002, a week before the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and both Nick and his wife, Gladys, were deeply affected by the impending date. Early in the interview, Nick describes being out with his buddies in San Diego having a good time and getting into mischief. A little further on he tells what happens to those buddies in combat. A transcript of this conversation is available in my book Semper Four, available in print and for Kindle at amazon, and a CD of the interview is included in the oral history audiobook "Four Marines," available in my eBay store. Thank you for listening. PS: When Nick refers to being present at a "second Pearl Harbor," he is referring to the West Loch disaster of May 21, 1944. Aaron's eBay store Aaron's Amazon author page The usual suspects: myfatherstankbattalion.com aaronelson.com oralhistoryaudiobooks.com mathewcaruso.com tankbooks.com

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. The first 79 episodes represent a fraction of the more than 700 hours of interviews I've conducted over the past 34 years with the men and women of the Greatest Generation. I'm Aaron Elson. If you would be interested in a modestly priced premium section of the podcast with access to exclusive special episodes, full-length versions of excerpted interviews, quizzes, autographed books, and other exclusive features, please email me at aelson.chichipress@att.net for details when they become available. In this episode, I've selected a medley of clips from past and future episodes. Thank you for listening. The usual suspects: https://aaronelson.com https://myfatherstankbattalion.com https://tankbooks.com https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com mailto:aelson.chichipress@att.net  

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. I first heard Mary Previte speak in 1998 at a POW/MIA ceremony that ex-prisoner of war Bob Levine invited me to. Twelve years later my friend Brandon Traister invited her to address the World War Lecture Institute, a monthly program at at the Abington, Pennsylvania, Library.  A little over a year ago I heard on National Public Radio that Mary had passed away. Mary's obituary in the New York Times The Weihsien Concentration Camp The usual suspects: War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It Aaronelson.com Oral History Audiobooks World War II Oral History @ tankbooks.com     8tjnfjH6Ak6pGE1cR93o    

   Paratrooper Ed Boccafogli of Passaic, New Jersey, was preparing to return to Normandy in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion when I met him. In this riveting interview, he describes the invasion of Normandy, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.       A full transcript of the interview can be found at tankbooks.com       The audio is included in the 11-hour audiobook "The D-Day Tapes" available at Oralhistoryaudiobooks.com and on eBay.       As this interview is broken into three episodes, it is not necessary but is recommended that you listen to the three sections in order.      War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. Thank you for listening. I'm Aaron Elson.

   Paratrooper Ed Boccafogli of Passaic, New Jersey, was preparing to return to Normandy in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion when I met him. In this riveting interview, he describes the invasion of Normandy, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.    A full transcript of the interview can be found at tankbooks.com    The audio is included in the 11-hour audiobook "The D-Day Tapes" available at Oralhistoryaudiobooks.com and on eBay.    As this interview is broken into three episodes, it is not necessary but is recommended that you listen to the three sections in order.    War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. Thank you for listening. I'm Aaron Elson.

   Paratrooper Ed Boccafogli of Passaic, New Jersey, was preparing to return to Normandy in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion when I met him. In this riveting interview, he describes the invasion of Normandy, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.    A full transcript of the interview can be found at tankbooks.com    The audio is included in the 11-hour audiobook "The D-Day Tapes" available at Oralhistoryaudiobooks.com and on eBay.    As this interview is broken into three episodes, it is not necessary but is recommended that you listen to the three sections in order.    War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. Thank you for listening. I'm Aaron Elson.

War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. This episode concludes my interview with Sergeant Jim Koerner, an engineer with the 10th Armored Division who was captured during the Battle of the Bulge.

  In this picture, you'll notice a yellow manuscript on the table. I asked Jim Koerner about it. He said after the war he worked as a night foreman for a trucking company. He had time on his hands, and began writing down his experiences while they were fresh in his mind. He then put it in a drawer and didn't take it out for more than forty years. Its title was "Nine Lives." Read this excerpt and you'll understand why. (From the book: 9 Lives: An Oral History" (c) 1997, Aaron Elson) Highway to hell Dec. 16, ’44. Hot mission coming up. All big brass running around (rumored big push coming off). Grabbed all NCOs, told to be on two-hour alert to move out. News came down to load. Must be big; convoys started off like first race at Belmont. Traveled all day and into night; even had convoy headlights on. Pulled into small town in middle of night and told we were to be here for night. Picked out red schoolhouse for most of platoon, private house for Lt. Hanel, myself and two corporals. Boy invited us home, told us to expect air raid, but no bombs, only pictures. Sure enough, he was right. He told us we were here in Luxembourg to stop Von Runstedt’s drive. All taverns open, even ice cream, most all spoke English. Seemed like transferred U.S. town. Bright and early next a.m., off for unknown. Saw MPs chasing jeep loads of soldiers, said they were Jerries dressed as our boys. What a shock this was. Went all day and into night at full pace. Around 11 p.m. ran through town, saw sign to Bastogne, went right through and out onto highway to Ste. Margaret – now could see and hear heavy shelling. Convoy came to halt and orders went out to get security out in all directions. I was in second halftrack from rear vehicles, radio truck. Slept on hood as motor was always running, nice and warm. Sure felt more and more like snow. Truck came roaring out of rear. Could hear rear guards halt and check same. Was gas truck from Bastogne, driven by colored GI. Was all out of breath and shook up, claimed Jerries rode into Bastogne in civilian clothes and he was last to get out. Loaded last truck with gas. Also our halftrack and one in front of us was busy loading Sherman tanks when the sky lit up like day. Got report Jerries lay on side of road and threw grenades into gas. As soon as truck lit up road we were clobbered by everything that fired. Sgt. Marks, myself and one corporal and one private set up a heavy water cooled .30-caliber machine gun. I had a light air-cooled .30 MG set on a little rise. Caught a patrol going back to their lines across open field. We cross-fired till my .30 light was showing a very nice hook as each tracer hit the dawn sky. We were now getting a constant stream of 106th Infantry and 9th Armored Division wounded and combat shocked troops. Must have been 500 laying from one side to the other of the road as fire increased or decreased from both sides. We had a constant battle going between ourselves and German infantry. We had gotten an M-90 .50-caliber equipped six-wheeled armored car and we put the turret over a knoll and with a 105 self-propelled gun that had a track gone. We managed to yell fire commands as the need arose. Which was getting closer and closer. Now we looked to dig into the hill for night security, but our shovels just bounced back. The town behind me had five houses that were in our hands and the Jerries had the rest. We started to pick up equipment. We now had an extra jeep that we got from a field. And we had a mean run to get to our ammunition trailer on the road, getting potted at as we ran. Next step was to head back to this small town and our five houses. Most had a whole load of shocked GIs. By nightfall we were lined up bumper to bumper with eight or nine tanks, two halftracks, one M-90 and three jeeps. We had set charges in the tanks and other vehicles that were disabled and set them off. I was next to the last in line to the west of the houses when Jerry started to move in. The first notice I had was a head peering over a hedge 15 or 20 feet from where I stood at the .50-caliber on the M-90. I fired five rounds and I had to hand operate after this or I’d get a jam. I went up to the captain in the lead house and asked him our intentions. He said if we had to move out on foot to head north and we’d run into paratroopers. I started back and noticed two Sherman tanks with no security and buttoned up. I jumped on the first and banged with my grease gun on the turret. A head popped out and said, “We have room for two more in here, how about it, Sergeant?” I didn’t get a chance to tell him I didn’t like tanks, I’m claustrophobic, when two dogfaces jumped out of nowhere and hopped in. Down went the hatch. I jumped up on the second one and did the same banging. About that time I found myself on the ground and saw the Shermans belch flame. I hopped up to the bogey wheel of the first tank again. There was an explosion and I was laying over a barbed wire fence with a burning sensation in my left heel and my butt (Five and four lives). The screams of the boys in the tank still live with me. A second loud explosion and they stopped. By this time a mass migration of men were heading across an open field for the woods. We gathered short of the woods and found there were close to 150 men and four officers in our group. I couldn’t see anyone I knew from my outfit but I knew the action was so fast and I wasn’t sure how long I had lain on the barbed wire fence before my reflexes made my legs move. The four officers told us to put security out and wait as they would try to make contact with our boys. We waited for six hours; still no return of the officers. We sent four men out to see if we could contact any outfit, myself and three other sergeants. I started across a barbed wire fence when I heard a loud yell in German. I hit the ground and lay still; so did the others. We suddenly heard a flare and in its glare two machine guns opened up and sprayed all around us for close to five minutes. As soon as they stopped, we did a slow backward retreat till our legs could do the most good. Back to the challenge of the boys in the woods. Still no officers. We decided to head north in three split patrols. I had used up my pills but still didn’t have time to see how bad I was hit. (Two days later I got to see about ten or twelve small pieces and one fairly big piece in my left heel, which I dug out with my knife. The others less one are still traveling in me as one showed up in my chest five years ago and came out. It was the size of a large BB.) I buddied up with a Corporal Smith from an antitank outfit. He’d seen a lot of action in Africa and had returned on rotation to the States and here he’d come back to get stuck in this deal. We fought everyone and anyone in this heavy pine forest for the balance of the night, and also part of the next day. Ran into a lot of Jerries and all were paratroops. I guess these were the boys we were told we’d meet if we headed north. Smith and I decided to try to go behind the Jerries and back out in a less busy place. I had a compass and we headed northeast. Got to cut telephone lines in two or three places. Missed patrol of 10 men by 10 feet and some high bushes. Had a grease gun and one clip of ammo. Smith had a carbine and 10 rounds. Both were loaded with dirt from crawling and laying on the ground. Screaming meemies were all around us both back and front. Smith said he’d had it and was going to give up. I tried to talk him out of it, but he headed to an open field and the artillery outfit set up there. I stayed put in woods. He waved a handkerchief to two soldiers and they ran to grab him. He turned quite nonchalantly to where I was watching and waved me in. I was covered before I had time to do anything. I said, “Smith, I think we’re going to get the business.” To my surprise we were treated with respect. We were taken to a farmhouse for questioning and here I saw a cripple I believe to have been Goebbels. He was at the center of a group of officers and had a few questions by an interpreter as to our outfits and condition of same. The boys showed him how rough they were as we gave only name, rank and serial number. From here we started a slow march with about 500 more GIs. We passed 9th Armored tanks that had been blown with shape charges lined up like so many ten pins. They must have had 25 to 50 vehicles and also alongside the road I saw our Christmas packages opened and looted. All the troops we passed looked older than the boys we tackled elsewhere. But all had ideas this was to be our end in the ETO [European Theater of Operation], at least all the Jerries that spoke English tried to convince us. Marched all day till just short of dark. Ended up in burnt-out factory where we had our first food – oatmeal eaten out of our steel helmets. Didn’t like the idea but it sure tasted good. Spent part of night unloading about six-inch shells. Tried to mention Geneva treaty but was told to shut up while I still had a choice. Got so disgusted near morning that we were throwing shells onto piles. Jerry guard gave us a safe distance but still let us know he didn’t like our crazy working methods. Could see things begin to change as we marched into Germany. Guards were very young and rough on us. Order 9 lives at amazon.com Order "Right in the Keister," interviews with ex-POWs at eBay

Maurice Tydor, a radio operator with the 101st Airborne Division, went into Normandy on an LST, into Holland on a glider, and into Bastogne on a truck. In this interview, he talks about the siege of Bastogne. This interview and several others is included in my Oral History Audiobook "D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge," available at aaronelson.com and eBay. D-Day and the Bulge  The D-Day Tapes My Father's Tank Battalion, the podcast

War As My Father's Tank Battalion is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. In part 2 of this 1994 interview, Maurice Tydor, a former neighbor of mine, was a radio operator in the 101st Airborne Division during the siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Resources: myfatherstankbattalion.com The official podcast site aaronelson.com My author web site Oral History Audiobooks A wide range of World War II oral history audiobooks on CD mathewcaruso.com A tragic hero of the Korean War My eBay store 

C Company veterans, from left, John Zimmer, Cecil Brock, Buck Hardee, Ralph Tambaro and Tony D'Arpino War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general, or maybe it's about General Patton in general and the Greatest Generation in particular. Whatever it's about, every episode is a piece in the ten thousand piece jigsaw of history, in the words and voices of the people who made it. In this and the previous episode, Tony D'Arpino of Milton, Massachusetts talks about driving a Sherman tank from Normandy to Czechoslovakia, seeing action in Normandy and Le Mans and Chambois and the Battle of the Bulge and the Siegfried Line. This interview is included in "The Tanker Tapes," available at eBay For more stories and interviews: aaronelson.com World War II Oral History Audiobooks The Mathew Caruso Story A tragic hero of the Korean War

  Tony D'Arpino War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is at a crossroads, perhaps not as complex as the intersection between time and space, but rather the intersection between stagnation and growth. Please give it a comment or a review wherever you listen to podcasts, be it spotify, gaana, audible, itunes or its host, libsyn. That will help attract new listeners and help the podcast grow. Today's episode is excerpted from my interview with Tony D'Arpino. Tony was a tank driver in C Company, but he was way more than that. He was a husband, a father, a storyteller, and a fixture at reunions of the 712th. He is featured in my audiobook The Tanker Tapes, and also in Once Upon a Tank in the Battle of the Bulge. For more information: myfatherstankbattalion.com Aaron Elson's Author Page World War II Oral History Audiobooks Aaron's eBay store ebaystores.com/World-War-II-History

Aaron Elson sat in a lounge at West Point in 1994 with five veterans of the 101st Airborne Division as they reminisced about the siege of Bastogne. This episode concludes that conversation. For a transcript of the full conversation, please read the show notes for the previous episode (Episode 68). Important resources: aaronelson.com Myfatherstankbattalion oralhistoryaudiobooks.com A Mile in Their Shoes D-Day and the Bulge The D-Day Tapes

This episode concludes the John Sweren story. It's a departure from my father's tank battalion but is well worth a listen, as it covers many of the universal themes of World War II: The post traumatic stress, the brushes with fate, the concept of heroism, the uplifting moments of humor in the darkest of circumstances, the importance of family and home and a future to return to. John's story of growing up on a farm with 2,000 chickens in the throes of the Great Depression, and of traveling the world as a paper mill executive later in life, are as compelling as his experiences at 14,000 feet and on the march across Germany. John at the dedication of the Hitch Hiker memorial The memorial in Fierville-Bray, Normandy For more information: https://myfatherstankbattalion.com https://aaronelson.com https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com Facebook: OralHistoryAudiobooks Twitter: @aaronelson1

John Sweren of Mesa, Arizona, was a tail gunner on a B-26 in World War II, and a former prisoner of war. In 2005, he attended a ceremony in the Normandy village of Fierville-Bray for the dedication of a memorial to Hitch Hiker, his plane, which was shot down over the village with the loss of three of its crew members while three survived. John's story is a roller coaster of emotions. His memories are both unique -- as every flier had a different set of experiences and connections with family and friends -- and universal in the themes that run through his story: the loss of friends, the respite of alcohol, the camaraderie, the cruelty of captivity, the moments of humor in the darkest of times. Special thanks to French historian Christian Levaufre, John's daughter Julie Denton, and Brett (Dallas) Schomacher for helping to bring John's amazing story to light. John tells his story at the memorial dedication For more information: https://aaronelson.com https://myfatherstankbattalion.com https://oralhistoryaudiobooks.com  

John Sweren of Mesa, Arizona, was a tail gunner on a B-26 Marauder in World War II. On July 28, 1944, while on his 58th mission, his bomber took a direct hit of flak and the tail section broke off with John in it. He survived to become a POW. John suggested the name Hitch Hiker for his B-26 and the crew approved. The nose art shows a woman modeled after Betty Grable with her thumb out and her skirt pulled up. On the ground is a suitcase with "TNT" painted on its side. Today there is a memorial to the Hitch Hiker in the village of Fierville-Bray in Normandy. In this episode, John talks about some of his missions, the two German fighter planes he shot down, his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft IV and the march across Germany in weather so cold that one night his eyelids froze shut. I left out a portion of the interview between Part 1 and Part 2 and might add it later on or post it separately for anyone interested in hearing it. In it, John talks about growing up in the Great Depression, and about falling in love -- with a car. My full interview with John is available at Amazon with the title "Merry Christmas in July" both in print and for Kindle. The full audio is available on eBay and in the online store at aaronelson.com along with two other POW interviews under the title "March Madness." John Sweren and his wife, Bobbi, at the 2005 dedication of the Hitch Hiker monument in Fierville-Bray, France. French historian Henri Levaufre, his son, Christian Levaufre, and Henri's wife, Jeanette with John. Merry Christmas in July, available in print and for Kindle at Amazon For more information: aaronelson.com War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It

   When I launched War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It, I intended it to be mostly about tanks. But the title is misleading, and I'm the person who came up with it. About half of my work comprises  interviews and conversations with veterans and families of my father's 712th Tank Battalion. , and I thought, well, there are a lot of people who are interested in tanks. But there are also people who are interested in D-Day, and prisoners of war, and Marines, and air battles, and Gold Star families, and World War II in general, and those interviews comprise the other half of my work.    This and the next couple of episodes are about a B-26 Marauder named Hitch Hiker, and its tail gunner, John Sweren. In 2010 Bob Levine called and invited me to breakfast. Bob, incidentally, is the subject of the episode "Good News, Bad News." He and his wife, Edith, both had covid-19 and both survived. (Edith has since passed away.) The French historian Christian Levaufre was visiting Bob on his way to the 90th Infantry Division reunion, besides which, Edith was a cook right out of Bon Appetit, so how could I refuse?    During the breakfast, Christian remarked that he had some pieces of an airplane in his suitcase.    I was like what?    Pieces of a B-26 that crashed in France during World War II, Christian explained, and during his visit he was going to deliver them to family members of some of the crew.    John Sweren of Mesa, Arizona, was the tail gunner on that crew. On July 28, 1944, the plane took a direct hit from flak and the tail section broke off with John in it. It was his 58th mission. Three of the six crew members were killed and three survived. Christian had a copy of an interview with John done by Brett Schomacher, who sat beside John on a plane and was fascinated by his story. When I read Schomacher's interview, I wanted to interview John as well. I planned a trip to Mesa, Arizona, in conjunction with a visit to my mother's cousin Janice Lahr in Tucson. Janice's late husband was Herb Lahr, whose father was Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, but that's another story.    I interviewed John over two days, and eventually published the interview with the title "Merry Christmas in July" for Kindle and, thanks to the miracle of print-on-demand, in book form available at Amazon.    There is a lot more to come from my interviews with the 712th Tank Battalion, but I've decided to include more of my general work as well. I hope you'll subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform, and subscribe to my email newsletter at myfatherstankbattalion.com. I'm Aaron Elson. Thank you for listening. And reading! War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It World War II Oral History Audiobooks Aaron Elson's author site  

Our nation spent Thanksgiving this year in the middle of a war that has claimed a quarter of a million lives. My father's tank battalion spent the Holidays in a different kind of war. Just as today, Thanksgiving was a special day. YXW3OeQaXxAfdvPfU63

This episode of the War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It podcast is not about my father's 712th Tank Battalion. Rather, it is about Joseph Stalin. Ten years ago I met Ludwik Kowalski, a retired college professor who grew up in Russia and emigrated to the United States. His story is both powerful and timely in light of recent events.

You've probably heard the phrase "An army travels on its stomach." In this collection of culinary anecdotes from Aaron Elson's archive of oral history interviews, I doubt that you'll find any recipes that would appeal to the Cooking Channel.

In one of Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe cartoons, a grizzled sergeant says to his squad, "I need a volunteer what don't owe me money." Many combat veterans credited a sense of humor with helping them maintain their sanity. These are their stories.

Arnold Brown enlisted in the Army as a private in 1936 and despite having only an eighth grade education became a rifle company commander in the 90th Infantry Division. My father's 712th Tank Battalion was attached to the 90th for most of the war in Europe. Myfatherstankbattalion.com ; Aaronelson.com

Arnold Brown enlisted in the Army in 1936. Despite having only an eighth grade education, he rose in the ranks to become a rifle company commander in the 90th Infantry Division. He was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for the battle of Oberwampach, where his company and tanks from my father's 712th Tank Battalion withstood nine German counterattacks.

A few years ago I began experimenting with themed audio CDs, where I would take stories from interviews with different veterans that had the same theme: Stories about jumping out of airplanes, about food on the front, about growing up in the Great Depression, about meeting General Patton, about romance and religion and strange events. In this episode of Myfatherstankbattalion, I present some excerpts from the double audio CD "Booze and War."

This is the 56th episode of the podcast and it seems like I'm just getting started. I want to thank all of you who have listened to more than one episode. You can find episode titles and supplemental material at myfatherstankbattalion.com and aaronelson.com. An edited transcript of the Dale Albee interview in booklet form and for Kindle is available at amazon under the title "From the Cavalry to Czechoslovakia."

Dale Albee enlisted in the Army in 1938, became a sergeant in the horse cavalry, earned a battlefield commission as a tanker, and led a platoon of light tanks through the Battle of the Bulge, the Siegfried Line, across Germany, and into Czechoslovakia.

Dale Albee enlisted in the horse cavalry in 1938, earned a battlefield commission in my father's tank battalion, and led a platoon of M3 Stuart light tanks from the time he was promoted until the battalion reached Czechoslovakia at the end of the war in Europe.

Lillian Feiler tells how she met her husband, Samuel Charles Feiler, a dentist in the 101st Airborne Division; Red Cross girl Kay Brainard Hutchins describes her romance with her second husband; and Nancy Mapes, wife of ex-prisoner of war Hal Mapes, tells how her young postwar family came to be featured in a photo spread in the Ladies Home Journal. For more about these and other stories please visit www.oralhistoryaudiobooks.com.

In this episode of Myfatherstankbattalion, maintenance officer Forrest Dixon talks about battlefield commissions,  guns, cameras, Hitler Youth, the Bridge at Remagen, Mein Kampf, a broken beer mug, the salt mine that would later be depicted in The Monuments Men, the Flossenburg concentration camp, and spark plugs. For information about previous episodes, please visit myfatherstankbattalion.com.