INDUCTION: An Excerpt from Life of a WWII Combat Infantryman

by Bill O'Brien

“Greetings. The President of the United States and your neighbors have selected you to be drafted into the Armed Forces to protect the country. You are to report at the Armory on South Meridian Street, Indianapolis to be sworn in to the United States Army." I thought I had good neighbors! Induction covers my introduction to WW II and the rude awakening from visualizing heroic deeds to wading through bodies and wondering how I came to be in the middle of this chaos on the shores of Normandy and the misery of Hurtgen Forest. This is an excerpt from my memoir of my early years, the war and my survival, and how the GI Bill provided myself and millions of other Americans a chance to have a college degree; creating the strongest economy in our history.

6 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2020