Harry

World War II Tank Gunner on the Front Lines

“I joined the army, not willingly, not my idea.  I was in the second draft in 1942.

We left from the YMCA early in the morning. I don’t how many buses and how many boys, I was 21 years old.”  Two year later Harry was shipped off to France where he assumed his position as a tank gunner in World War II.  In this clip, Harry tells one of the many stories he cannot forget.

Harry survived two tanks being destroyed underneath  on the front lines of war. When he came back he was considered a hero in his New Jersey hometown, although he never felt that way.  He eventually joined his father’s construction business, got married and had two children, but never could forget his experiences.

For the last 64 years Harry has been plagued with nightmares. “I could see what I was doing, I could feel the tank and the guns and everything, shells coming in …I try to erase it from my mind but it’s a hard thing to do.”

Harry was interviewed for “Hidden Battles,” a documentary about the psychological impact that killing in combat has on soldiers internationally. www.hiddenbattles.com