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David Lee

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To Army draftee David Lee, training for the infantry was a great adventure. He made friends from far and wide and it prepared him well for the ongoing campaign across Europe. (5:37)

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David Lee was on his way to Europe in a troop ship and they put him to work making ice cream. It was no treat, though, when he was thrown onto the Battle of St. Lo. (2:51)

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David Lee says the fabled German 88mm gun was put to devastating use in the Battle of St. Lo. It was even used to target individual soldiers. Eventually the Germans had to withdraw and it was a breakthrough right across France for the Allies. (6:59)

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David Lee’s unit was repositioned in response to the Battle of the Bulge, shoring up the Southern flank. After that, they moved to the Elbe River, where they contacted advancing Russian troops. (4:13)

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The activity was less stressful at war’s end for David Lee. Liberating a wine cellar and guarding a refugee camp were welcome changes from combat. Of 158 men who arrived in Europe with his unit, only 8 remained. (3:29)

David Mealor

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There were no jobs to be found in 1940, so David Mealor followed his brother into the National Guard. Just as his year was up, the country mobilized to fight a new war and he was in for the duration. He was sure his unit was destined for Europe, but when the ship was just getting out into the Atlantic, it turned right. (5:48)

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The ship was headed out into the Pacific with a large convoy when it lost it's rudder. After that was repaired, it had to make it's way to New Guinea alone. David Mealor was grateful there were no encounters with submarines, but once he got to the destination, there was impenetrable jungle and tropical diseases, one of which took him out of the action. (5:16)

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It was just terrible in New Guinea. Jungle so thick you couldn't move and rain that never stopped. David Mealor was in the communications section, so he had a little wire trailer that he could sleep in. That was about all the luck he had there. (4:02)

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While still in training, David Mealor thought that it was too cold in camp, so he volunteered for mountain training and maneuvers. He figured it would be hiking through the hills, but he had a rude awakening when he saw what he would be climbing. The maneuvers were disorganized, which led to a plot for a little getaway. (5:36)

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He was sent home from New Guinea with jungle rot, but it cleared up on the trip. David Mealor began an odyssey of Army backwaters and disorganization. He was bounced around in stateside units, finally ending up in Petaluma on a converted chicken ranch. While he was there, his mother asked him to find his brother, who's ship had just docked in San Francisco. Find a sailor in San Francisco? (6:07)