WHEN and the ones experiencing the war

May 26 1940 to June 1940 -- The Battle of Dunkirk went on

Recovered Journal Entry #3:

I have been asked, what made me decide to keep a journal. In advance of being drafted I reasoned that much of a soldier's spare time is spent in dreadful boredom. Gambling never interested me, nor drinking. Writing would provide me with an interesting preoccupation.

I was drafted into the U.S. Army on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1940. I immediately started keeping a journal. I wrote only when I thought I had something interesting on record. The 4th Infantry Division was one of the three assault divisions that initiated five major battles in Europe. The 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division landed at Utah Beach on D-day, Normandy. We then swept through France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. We fought in the battle of Hurtgen Forest, which is widely known as one of the fiercest, bloodiest battles in all history. We entered into Germany, then fought in the Battle of the Bulge. My 22nd Infantry Regiment, one of the three regiments in the division, was the one chosen by novelist Ernest Hemingway and journalist Ernie Pyle to spend their time with during five combat months.

I was the T/4 sergeant in charge of the Classification Section of the 22nd Infantry Regiment Personnel office. During combat it was my job to assign replacements to depleted rifle companies and escort them on trucks to the meat-grinder front lines.

When I was inducted I understood that I was going to be in the Army until we won the war, no matter how long it took--two years, five, ten...In May, 1945, 486 dated Journal entries after I was inducted, the way in Europe ended. In July, 1945, I, together with my division, headed for the port of Le Havre. There we boarded the 10,000 ton US "Liberty" troopship and headed home.

David Rothbart
U.S. Army Draft Soldier of the 22nd Infantry Regiment