My father, Robert Joseph Hartzell, was with the 101st Airborne Division, 502nd PIR, Company I.
The first picture is of Dad in 1943 and the second in 1998. Dad served from 1942 to 1945. He enlisted because he felt that he would be drafted anyway and chose to be a paratrooper. He was trained as a bazooka man. No one else in his family served. His basic training was at Camp Wolters, Texas and attended jump school in Fort Bragg.
He arrived in England during October 1943 and jumped into Normandy in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944. He told me that the weapon that he feared the most was the German 88mm guns. He was later wounded in action on June 10th near Bridge 4 on the Carentan Causeway. The lingering effects of his wounds caused him to be transferred to an anti-aircraft unit for the balance of the war.
The worst part of the war for him was Normandy. The effects of his wounds followed him into the post war years until he finally healed. Shrapnel pieces occasionally came to the surface of his skin. He suffered recurring nightmares for the rest of his life. His wartime experienced definitely shaped the rest of his life. He craved the company of those with whom he served. He was so proud of his unit. When he came home, only his sister was there, as the rest were out of town attending a funeral for his brother’s child.
After the war, his adjustment was not an easy one. He was finally able to settle down when and married in 1948. He attended his first 101st AB reunion in 1954. He accumulated the current addresses of the men of Company I of the 502nd, and beginning in 1960 he regularly published a newsletter for them, which he continued to do up to 2003 when another person volunteered to take it over.
Dad passed away in January 2015.
~ Stephen Hartzell
We are very grateful to Stephen for sharing his story with Comes A Soldier’s Whisper, where we are all connected.
God Bless all who serve and keep us safe.
The Greatest Generation: www.ComesASoldiersWhisper.com
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