[Annotator's Note: There is another person in the room off screen that interjects to help interviewee with the interviewer's questions.] Armand Tarantelli was born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1925. His large Italian family consisted of five sisters, and four brothers. He attended schools in the area and graduated in 1943. During the depths of the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] Tarantelli's father lost his job and the four elder brothers had to work to support the large family. Because of the Depression, Tarantelli's family did not pay much attention to what was going on in Europe or Japan in the late 1930s. The attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] did not have much an effect on him because he did not know where it was or never heard of the place. His father and many of the men in his neighborhood were strong supporters of Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; also known as il Duce] when he rose to power in Italy because they felt he was a "new Julius Caesar" [Annotator's Note: Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman, dictator of Rome, Italy, 49 BC to 44 BC] who would make Italy strong once more. When the war began for the America, his family and many other Italian Americans were swept up in a wave of great patriotism. To contribute to the war efforts, his family bought war bonds [Annotator's Note: debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war] with the extra few dollars they had. He and many of his high school friends bought war stamps [Annotator's Note: War savings stamps were issued by the US Treasury Department to help fund World War 2] with nickels and dimes. Also, everyone was required to ration food and supplies. His large family was able to profit from the rationing system in place by selling the surplus stamps they received for being a household of 12 people. After graduating high school, Tarantelli knew he would be drafted and was ready for the adventure. He could not hate the Germans because he did not know them, but he did fear having to kill. He was sent to Camp Upton [Annotator's Note: now Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York] for basic training before being transferred to Fort Knox [Annotator's Note: Fort Knox, Kentucky] for armored training. This training was excellent. He learned the role of each of the five men in a Sherman tank [Annotator's Note: M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4] and learned to drive all the vehicles that made up an armored division.

[Annotator's Note: There is another person in the room off screen that interjects to help interviewee with the interviewer's questions.] Armand Tarantelli boarded a ship in New York Harbor [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York] and sailed to Glasgow, Scotland. After moving south through England, he crossed the Channel [Annotator's Note: the English Channel] to France as a replacement. He had to deboard from the troop ship by descending from ropes. It was a frightening experience because the water was very choppy. He ended up just diving off the rope onto a barge and landing on a dozen men. He arrived at a replacement depot in the Alsace-Lorraine region [Annotator's Note: Alsace-Lorraine, France] and was given three choices of an assignment: chauffeur for the company commander, light tank reconnaissance, and MP [Annotator's Note: Military Police]. He chose the latter and was assigned to the MP Platoon of the 14th Armored Division. His job varied from day to day but knew from the beginning he would be partly responsible for guarding thousands of people including displaced persons, concentration camp survivors, and German POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. He was often placed on sentry duty and as a "human signpost" directing traffic to the front. His commanding officer never put his unit in harm's way. On one occasion, many displaced persons were released from captivity and began rampaging through a nearby city. He and the other MPs were assigned to corral them back into captivity with fixed bayonets. On another occasion, Tarantelli was assigned guard duty on the edge of a mined road and was unsure of where to step many times. Because he was never trained as a police officer before joining the platoon, he often let other GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also, a slang term for an American soldier] off with warnings and never issued a summons or placed anyone under arrest. After the war, he was on occupation duty. His main duty was to keep GIs from fraternizing with the German civilians, which he did not do very well. When the 14th Armored Division liberated Dachau Concentration Camp [Annotator's Note: Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany], Tarantelli had the opportunity to visit the camp and view the crematoriums. Some of the camp had been destroyed when the American broke through to liberate the prisoners. Because he was young and naïve, he did not understand what the Holocaust [Annotator's Note: also called the Shoah; the genocide of European Jews during World War 2] was at that time. Tarantelli's superior officer, a Jew, got into an altercation with another officer over anti-Semitic sentiments. Tarantelli was not sure how to respond. He did not know if he should try to break up the fight because both men were of higher rank. After Dachau, they began liberating more areas of Europe. During this time, it felt like he was exploring new adventures.

[Annotator's Note: There is another person in the room off screen that interjects to help interviewee with the interviewer's questions.] Armand Tarantelli [Annotator's Note: with the Military Police Platoon, 14th Armored Division] had a particularly dangerous occurrence when American planes began bombing his location while he was escorting two surgeons to the battlefield. They dove into a wine cellar and a civilian warned them that the cellar was not safe. As soon as they exited, the house above took a direct hit and the cellar collapsed. On another occasion, Tarantelli was assigned sentry duty in an area with at least two dozen dead Americans and Germans under orders to shoot to kill anyone who touched the bodies. He lacked the killer instinct and was unsure he would be able to follow through. One sergeant tested him, but quickly went away without argument. The sight of the dead made him work harder to not be injured himself. He stayed safe by never looking for trouble and hiding well when bombs began to fall. Not long after the German surrender, he was sent to Marseilles [Annotator's Note: Marseilles, France] to await transport to Japan to finish the war. While in camp there, a Jeep with several WAC members [Annotator's Note: Women's Army Corps; women's branch of the United States Army, 1942 to 1978] on board came roaring through and delivered the news of the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. To earn enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to be discharged, he boarded a ship to the United States where he remained an MP at Army posts in Austin, Texas and Fort Lewis, Washington. This duty was more dangerous for him as he was responsible for breaking up bar brawls in which it was impossible to tell who the enemy was. He was discharged in June 1946 and quickly returned to New York to attend NYU [Annotator's Note: New York University in New York, New York] on the GI Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He earned a degree in education and spent his career as an industrial arts educator. The GI bill was a miracle because it was a wonderful thing the government could do for the servicemen. "The heroes never came home."

[Annotator's Note: There is another person in the room off screen that interjects to help interviewee with the interviewer's questions.] Armand Tarantelli [Annotator's Note: with the Military Police Platoon, 14th Armored Division] had no trouble readjusting to civilian life after the war. A captured German officer had told him he was just happy to be alive and out of a war that had held him for six years. The young generation today is in a different world than he is because of all the advances since he was a man of 20 years. Tarantelli has several memories of his World War 2 experience, but they are so complex that he does not know how to express in the interview.

[Annotator's Note: There is another person in the room off screen that interjects to help interviewee with the interviewer's questions.] Armand Tarantelli is thankful he is still alive and hopes he makes it to 100 years. He prays that that there will not be a global war because it will be lethal. Although he has pacifist sentiments, he also understands why war breaks out. He believes Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] and Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; also known as il Duce] were supposed to be "nice guys" but they turned into bullies. He believes that America should have a defense position. Tarantelli's most memorable experience was when he ducked and covered from the enemy fire in near-death instances. There was one instance when a German threw up a flare and "like a jackass" Tarantelli stood up and looked at it like fireworks. He believes every veteran should receive the medical and mental help they need when they return home because they paid a price. Tarantelli fought in World War 2 because he was drafted and had no other choice. Although he was drafted, he did not feel alone. He had a support system. They knew they were fighting against atrocities. He had a lot of patriotism and led by the example of his family and friends who sacrificed for the efforts of the war. When the servicemen returned from the war, they were met by thousands of girls. So many couples married. He has been married for 70 years. World War 2 changed his life because it gave him many opportunities after the war. He received an education. The victors get to write the history. He still has a military mind, but also promotes pacifism. He hopes that conflicts in Israel settle down. America benefited from World War 2 because it allowed it to climb out of the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. What World War 2 means to America, is a difficult question. He believes we must get rid of hatred because hatred develops war. He is optimistic that the world can have piece due to electronics. He believes there should be institutions like the museum [Annotator's Note: the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He believes children need to learn about the world and learn languages. "The heroes never came home."