Donald Ediger

Pearl Harbor was a real shock to me. I was a senior in high school in Oklahoma. Hearing the news on the radio that Sunday, I knew I was destined for a whole new life. I was drafted out of college in March of 1943. By the end of the war I had participated in five campaigns in Europe.

I had been accepted into the Officer Training School (OCS) and was set to go there following my basic training at Camp Barkley, Texas. We were informed at that time that the number of men being admitted to the OCS was being reduced, so I was going to be sent to a university for enrollment in the Armed Services Health Professions program. This program was started because the Army at this particular time had more men than they needed. The qualified participants would attend college until they were needed. I was sent to Oklahoma A & M for two weeks for evaluation and testing. I was then offered the option of being sent to an as yet unspecified university to pursue an engineering curriculum. I chose not to accept because I was not interested in engineering courses. I requested to return to Camp Barkley for another try at the OCS. That was approved, but when I returned I was told that the OCS had been temporarily closed. I was assigned to a Replacement Depot. I was there for two months before receiving orders to report to the 298th Engineer Combat Battalion at Camp Iron Mountain in the California desert. The training there was quite vigorous, including two or three weeks of desert maneuvers. We were then sent to the Boston Port of Embarkation to board a ship to England.

ediger.gif (30858 bytes) The combat engineers played an important role in the war. Infantry training was a major part of the unit's preparation. The unit was deployed as infantry on several occasions, the longest of which was six weeks in the Huertgen Forest in Germany. We were involved with demolition, laying land mines, removing enemy mines, clearing roads and making emergency repairs. Major projects involved rivers in Europe. Our unit built a large number of various kinds of bridges. Some of these were built under enemy artillery fire and/or aircraft attacks. The combat engineers were responsible for transporting infantry personnel across rivers in small assault boats during assault landings.

One example of a military blunder that involved our group was this. We landed in Normandy on June 9, 1944. That was three days after D-Day. The entire battalion was supposed to land on Utah Beach. The Navy dropped our Headquarters and Service (H & S) Company, the battalion headquarters, and all of the battalion vehicles off at the correct beach, but they landed the three line companies (A, B, and C) on Omaha Beach! I was in Company B at the time. The area between the two beaches had not yet been cleared, and was still in enemy hands. The area was secured three days later, and those of us on Omaha Beach were transported by truck to Utah Beach to join the rest of our unit.

Our assignments were so varied, that we didn't really have what you would call a typical day. In Normandy, the days were never the same, but I can describe for you what a typical night in Normandy was like because they all had one thing in common, and that was patterned shelling by enemy artillery. The nights were short: sunset was about 11 PM, and then sunrise was about 4 AM. Every evening at 11 PM we gathered in our foxholes and had a last cigarette before attempting to go to sleep. Starting at about 11 PM, "Bedcheck Charlie," our nickname for the German planes, dropped anti-personnel bombs on us for about 45 minutes. The targets appeared to be random. We would rest for about 30 or 45 minutes before the artillery barrage began. This would last another 30 to 45 minutes. After another short rest, the Germans sent patrols with "Burp" guns to gain information or engage out troops in short, fierce fighting. The "Burp" guns were very noisy automatic machine pistols. We then had a few hours of sleep until the German planes came and bombed us. This routine happened every night, and we got very little sleep. My biggest fear was of being pinned down in my foxhole and being shot in the spine and ending up paralyzed for life.

Our unit stayed intact until July 1945, and then it disbanded. Some of the men were sent to various locations, but a large portion of us formed the nucleus of a Service Engineer Battalion. We were to be shipped back to the United States for a 30-day furlough before being sent on to the Pacific Theater. We were in Le Havre Harbor, waiting to board ship when we heard about the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima and the subsequent surrender of Japan. Our trip back to the United States was canceled, and I stayed in Europe until late November.

Wartime was a terrible time. It was a unique period in history when the whole country was united for a cause. I’m so proud of our country and the Armed Forces and how we responded. I never for one minute doubted that the Allies would win because I had seen our country mobilize for war. I was very proud of our country's effort, both on the home front and in the armed forces. We all had great confidence.

By definition, war can not be moral. But of all the wars, World War II had to be fought. Hitler and his Nazis had to be stopped. The destruction of six million Jews was enough of a reason.

Discipline was the main thing I learned in the Army. The discipline I learned in the Army is still a part of my life today. Although I received Bronze Campaign Stars for being in five campaigns, I feel my biggest accomplishment was learning to take orders and to endure the day to day hardships without complaining. The battles in which I participated were Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes (better known as the Battle of the Bulge), and Central Europe.

I was discharged from the army on December 3, 1945 and went home for Christmas. The first thing I did after being discharged was to change into civilian clothes. In March of 1946, I married my college sweetheart. My wife and I enrolled at the University of Nebraska where I received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy in January, 1949.

After I got out of the war I spent about twenty-five years trying to forget my experiences. I then realized that World War II was a major part of my life. In 1981 I took a trip to Europe. I rented a car and traced the steps I took in the War. This helped me put a whole different perspective on this time in my life.