Arne Samuelson was born in January 1922 in Sandefjord, Norway. He was two years old when he immigrated to America with his parents. Samuelson’s uncle was already in the United States and helped them move and find work. Originally his uncle was a builder in Lyndhurst, New Jersey until the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. Samuelson’s first memory was attending kindergarten. The family stayed in Lyndhurst for about a year and a half. They would have stayed longer, but things did not work out for his father. The Samuelsons moved to a farmhouse. He attended a small public school that offered only first, second, and third grades, and then attended Morristown High School [Annotator’s Note: Morristown, New Jersey]. After high school, he attended a vocational school to become a machinist and soon began work with Minnesota Mining & Manufacture, or 3M for about three years [Annotator’s Note: a window is open during the recording of the interview so audio drowned out periodically]. Samuelson left the service on 5 November 1945, having joined in January 1942 [Annotator’s Note: there is a brief cut and the interview resumes]. He was drafted after the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Many people Samuelson knew were also drafted. He was first sent to Fort Dix [Annotator’s Note: in Trenton, New Jersey] and then took a ship to Europe from Massachusetts. He did not receive any training at Fort Dix and left for Camp Hale in Colorado after about a week. He received basic training and training in skiing there. Samuelson thought the training was tougher than combat.

Arne Samuelson and his unit [Annotator’s Note: the 99th Infantry Battalion was a separate unit composed of Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans] thought they were going to take part in the D-Day invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], but once in Europe were instead sent to Norway. There were thousands of German troops still in Norway once the war ended, and they needed to be transported to Oslo [Annotator’s Note: the capital city of Norway] and then back home to Germany. Samuelson and his unit were the ones who needed to organize them and get them home. The German soldiers did not cause any trouble for the Norwegians or the American troops. After serving in Norway, the 99th Infantry Battalion went home. Samuelson had a respect for the toughness of the German soldiers. General Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] told the soldiers that the only way to win the war was by killing the Germans. When Samuelson and his unit had arrived in England, they underwent additional training. They did not receive any more specialized mountaineering training like they had at Camp Hale in Colorado. Samuelson’s unit was stationed near Malmedy [Annotator’s Note: Malmedy, Belgium], but did not fight inside of the city. The 99th Infantry Battalion was the first to venture into the city of Malmedy. By this time, Samuelson’s company had been together for a while and he had made friends with many of the men in his unit. He would patrol in a jeep that his company captured from the Germans. Most of his combat experience was skirmishes and calling for artillery. Samuelson was always aware of the danger that combat posed. During the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], he remembers fighting the krauts [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Germans] in the cold. Soldiers from both sides feared artillery strikes. Samuelson feels that at this time the Germans did not have as much air support as the Americans, and as a result he did not fear being strafed [Annotator’s Note: machine gun fire from a low-flying aircraft] by aircraft. Samuelson laments that no matter what you did, someone was always dying every day at the front. Various responsibilities and assignments kept the soldiers busy, making it hard to focus on the danger or loss. The officers also helped the soldiers keep going as well. Soldiers commonly suffered from combat fatigue [Annotator's Note: post traumatic stress disorder; a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event either experienced or witnessed], and had to be removed from the front sometimes. Samuelson did his best to keep focused on his duties.

The first time that Arne Samuelson experienced loss in his unit [Annotator’s Note: the 99th Infantry Battalion was a separate unit composed of Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans] was when three of his friends were killed by artillery fire. They had no cover to escape to when the artillery struck. Typically, the soldiers dug foxholes for themselves to crawl into, but this time they did not have time to do so. He did not learn of their death until days afterward, when he originally had only heard that they were injured. He did not have time to grieve, they just had to keep moving forward and not think about the loss of fellow soldiers and friends. Samuelson says that he did not reach his limit for this kind of loss [Annotator’s Note: the interviewer talks about other soldiers reaching their limit and needing help for PTSD]. Most of the soldiers in his unit spoke English well, some were bilingual, and some only spoke Norwegian [Annotator’s Note: the interviewer tells a story of Norwegian soldiers being arrested because they were mistaken for German speakers]. Samuelson tells the story of German soldiers executing a group of prisoners of war from the 99th Infantry. He never heard of anyone from his unit executing German prisoners. His unit went through Aachen, Germany and he saw firsthand the effect of the war on the country. Samuelson knew that it was going to be over soon after the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. However, he and his unit thought they were going home. Instead, the Army sent them to Oslo [Annotator’s Note: the capital of Norway] to help facilitate transporting the German soldiers back to Germany. Samuelson visited his Norwegian family when he had leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] while on occupation duty after the fighting ended. From Norway, he returned home in November 1945. He did not have a hard time adjusting when he returned to the United States. He went to work at 3M when he returned. He kept in touch with people from his unit, and met them often through reunions, though most of them have died by the time of the interview.

Arne Samuelson [Annotator’s Note: serving in the US Army’s 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate), a unit composed of Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans] was most afraid of dying from a torpedo attack while at sea. He had a cousin die from a submarine attack while on a cargo ship. Samuelson does not know why he was able to process and handle the war easier than others, but considers himself lucky. He was always able to compartmentalize his time in the Army, and not let it bother him throughout his life. Samuelson counts himself fortunate that his wife was there to support him. He was always more concerned with those who were in more danger than himself. It bothered him to know that his fellow soldiers were being injured or killed in battle. He had two brothers who were also in the war, and he worried about them as well. Samuelson agrees that the wounds and violence from the fighting were the worst parts. He does not recall anyone physically near him being grievously wounded or killed. While in Europe, Samuelson visited Buchenwald [Annotator's Note: Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany] concentration camp. He went through the camp and saw the bodies of the dead. Samuelson believes that the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization] were different from the rest of the German soldiers, that they were fanatics who would destroy and kill anything. Seeing Buchenwald and knowing that Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] wanted to conquer their home gave the soldiers motivation for fighting the war. He did not understand how bad the concentration camps were until he saw it in person. He and the soldiers in his unit could not comprehend how anyone could do such a thing to other humans.

Arne Samuelson [Annotator’s Note: who served in Europe with the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate), a unit of Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans] was most proud when he finally returned to the States from Europe. He hoped to never see the United States enter another war. Samuelson believes that Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: 33rd President of the United States] did the right thing by using the bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. They were being prepared for a land invasion of Japan, but the use of nuclear weapons and Japan’s surrender stopped that from happening. Many soldiers believe that they are alive due to the use of the bomb, whether or not it was the right thing to do. Samuelson completed his duty without injury. One of his friends was shot and received 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] for it, allowing him to come home from the war earlier. Samuelson adjusted to civilian life quickly after returning home. What he did for fun in the Army differed depending on where they were. While in Colorado for training, they would leave camp and go to Leadville to drink, although he laments that they never had enough money to get drunk. Those who did not return home on time were considered AWOL [Annotator's Note: absent without leave] and punished. People would come and perform for the troops, though he never saw anyone famous such as Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE; British-American entertainer who was famous for entertaining American troops serving overseas during World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War]. He believes that another war like World War 2 would result in total annihilation of both sides.