He was a translator for the US 6th Engineer Special Brigade in Homberg, Germany, in 1945, after having survived the bombardments in Duisburg and surroundings for two years in a row. The only medal he received during the war, ironically, was a German one, received for his work as a fireman saving people from under the rubble after the allied bombings on Duisburg, and recovering scores and scores of dead civilians as well.

He never boasted about the role in the war, but he had the privilege of having lived it from both sides, even surviving the devastating 1000-bomber attack on the Ruhr zone in Oct 1943, known as one of the worst aerial bombings of WW2.

My dad lived through the same things as all of the German civilians. He shared their hopes and sufferings, and then as an enlisted US soldier, he saw things from the other side as well.