Roger Bertolini served in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He did his basic training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They took a cadre of non-commissioned officers, like himself, and a cadre of commissioned officers. They were shipped to North Carolina and started a new division, which was the 101st Airborne Division. Bertolini was promoted to staff sergeant. He trained for another nine months until his unit received orders to go overseas. While in England, his unit was transferred back to the 82nd Airborne Division. While in England, he served as the supply sergeant and gave men their clothing, shoes, and equipment. He continued training to make sure he was still in physical shape. He also practiced loading and unloading his glider in preparation for D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944].

Roger Bertolini served in the Army as a staff sergeant in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and took part in combat operations in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He did not go into Normandy on a glider, but went with a pathfinder unit in order to set up markers for the C-46s [Annotator's Note: Curtiss C-46 Commando cargo aircraft] and C-47s [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo aircraft]. Bertolini carried white signals with him to place in the sand. He made his landing at three o’clock in the morning. The landing was rough and he was scared, but he knew he had to do his job for the men landing after him. The Germans had the field flooded and trees cut down to damage the wings of the gliders. Sergeant Lloyd L. Goose [Annotator’s Note: phonetic spelling] landed with Bertolini. Not long after he placed the signals out, gliders came into the landing area. Bertolini carried an M1 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] which was a good rifle, but at times jammed when it became overheated. As his unit landed on the beaches, he attempted to gather everyone in his unit and wait for his next orders. They landed near Sainte-Mère-Église [Annotator’s Note: Sainte-Mère-Église, France]. When the unit came upon a bridge, they were told to take it. They lost about 40 percent of their men taking the bridge due to a German artillery gun. Bertolini took over the machine gun and was able to collect several German prisoners. During the night, they went across a field and were again met with heavy resistance. When they reached Saint-Lô [Annotator’s Note: Saint-Lô, France] in July 1944, his unit received orders to return to England.

Roger Bertolini served in the Army as a staff sergeant in 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and took part in combat operations in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He described Captain Sauls [Annotator’s Note: Captain John Sauls] as a good man, but he was wounded in the arm during a takeover of a causeway near Sainte-Mère-Église [Annotator’s Note: likely the La Fière Causeway near Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, France]. Bertolini was told to keep moving even if the man next to him got hit, or else the Germans would get him too. Captain Sauls told his men to keep moving ahead. It was difficult to move ahead because they had to walk over men on the ground while going through German fire. He did not see any German tanks the first few days, but did see the Germans using French tanks. Bertolini and some of the guys in his unit were able to overcome a tank with a bazooka [Annotator's Note: man-portable recoilless 2.36 inch anti-tank rocket launcher weapon]. When he hit the end of the causeway, he saw Germans in a field and in foxholes. The Germans were well prepared for combat, but he was able to collect six German prisoners after his unit overtook the bridge. He remarked that Captain Sauls had a “hot-head” personality and when he was wounded in the hand, he did not see the captain anymore.

Roger Bertolini served in the Army as a staff sergeant in 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and took part in combat operations in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] and then in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands [Annotator’s Note: Operation Market Garden, 17 to 27 September 1944; the Netherlands]. He glided into combat and was immediately hit with resistance and lots of flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire]. A piece of flak hit his pilot’s nose and knocked him out, so Bertolini slapped him on the knee to wake him up. He glided over a plowed field near a town. The glider landed hard and injured one of the 13 troops in the back. [Annotator’s Note: clock dings at 0:41:05.000.] His unit’s mission was to protect the Nijmegen bridge from the Germans. Bertolini remarked about some of the commanding officers and sergeants during combat. Sergeant Neal and Sergeant Christianson [Annotator’s Note: phonetic spelling of names] were his best buddies during his service. Sergeant Neal was killed by the Germans three weeks after Operation Market Garden. Sergeant Erikson was wounded in the stomach, but survived the war.

Roger Bertolini served in the Army as a staff sergeant in 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and took part in combat operations in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] and then in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands [Annotator’s Note: Operation Market Garden, 17 to 27 September 1944; the Netherlands]. He glided into combat and was immediately hit with resistance and lots of flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire]. There were some good times during his service, and definitely some bad times. He sent his parachute home and his wife made a wedding dress out of it. Bertolini worries for America today because Americans do not know how to save and spend their money on everything. The Army morale today is not nearly as strong as it was during his service in World War 2. The men he served with were brave boys, but scared too because the Germans were a strong fighting force. [Annotator’s Note: Video cuts to interviewee walking down a hall and then showing his wife’s wedding dress made from his parachute. Then video of interviewee’s picture during service from 1:00:32.000 to 1:04:11.733.]