Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:29 | Engineer Wilmer Roland was trained to build bridges and destroy mines, but before he followed the Army onto Omaha beach he managed to lose some stripes in England and nearly freeze in a dive from a ship.
Keywords : Wilmer Roland Engineer England Bailey Bridge mine
Engineer Wilmer Roland saw his first combat when he was sent to build a bridge in a town which had not yet been captured. In another encounter, as German planes strafed his position, he dove for cover in what he thought was a haystack. It was not.
During the Battle of the Bulge, Engineer Wilmer Roland was used as a recon driver and recalls dodging cows on the roads. He also remembers the hospitality of the people of Luxembourg and the novelty of hearing a Buzz Bomb.
A surrendering German officer supplied a new sidearm for Wilmer Roland, a Luger. A town where the scorched earth technique had been used by the enemy still amazes him. And what was that password?
Wilmer Roland encountered Russian troops while camped in Czechoslovakia and marveled that they had women soldiers. After the European hostilities ceased, he nearly was seen fraternizing with a civilian by Gen. Patton, who was riding by on a Jeep.
When he did not have enough points to be discharged after the Europe campaign, Wilmer Roland found himself on a ship to the Pacific. There was nearly a riot when troops found out the destination - Manila.
As the ship left Japan to carry Wilmer Roland home to America, the troops took up a collection for the captain of the ship, who was fined for leaving port too early. Back home, the Army engineer reflected that he was "just another soldier."
