Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:12 | The war had just ended and the Russian soldiers were causing trouble on the streets of Berlin. In the American sector, Antonio Mendez was told to take a squad and go restore order. They had just got out of the jeep when the opportunity presented itself.
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Antonoio Mendez tried to volunteer for the paratroopers but they told him he was too small. There goes the $50 a month! After his number came up in the draft, he was picked for motor pool because he'd been a truck driver. Then they trained him in communications. Then he missed the boat.
Because he had tried to volunteer for the paratroopers before he was drafted, when Antonio Mendez got to England, they tried to make one out of him there. He balked at that idea because of the minimal training he would have received. Instead, he became a machine gunner.
As the fighting raged around Aachen, Antonio Mendez watched men fall all around him. The Germans had a tank with an 88 dug in and it was forcing them to withdraw. Antonio Mendez saw a perfect spot for cover and dove in. He yelled for others to join him and they soon had a good fighting position set up. Before it was over, he had earned a Silver Star. Part 1 of 2.
The officer stumbled upon a group of men hunkered down in a gully during the battle of Aachen. Where's the line? Right here. Where are the Germans? Right over there. Who's in charge here? Silence. Finally, they pointed to Antonio Mendez. He had put the ad hoc group of GIs together and rallied them to fend off the Germans, worthy of a Silver Star. Part 2 of 2.
They were getting ready to attack in the morning near Cologne when the order came. Pack up, we're leaving in an hour. The Germans had broken through in Belgium. Antonio Mendez recalls how his unit manned a thin line before successfully pushing them back.
Something hit him and knocked him down. Antonio Mendez was in an assault on a farm house full of Germans when he was knocked to the ground. He felt his side getting wet and he was sure he was bleeding badly.
They always wanted him for something. The war was over but Antonio Mendez was still waiting for a ship home. He was summoned and sent to a prison where he was to be the sergeant in charge. It turned out to be good duty.
Antonio Mendez was still waiting to go home. They sent him to Le Havre, where lots of GIs were doing the same. Then he heard, Mendez, report! Oh, man. What do they want me to do now? It's happening again.
They just wouldn't leave him alone. Even on the ship home, Antonio Mendez was told to report for orders. He was going to be sergeant of the guard on board. That's when he learned how he actually outranked some of his superiors.
