Charles Kitching was born in October 1925 in Sanford, Maine. He had one sister that is 10 years younger than him. Due to the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], his family did not have a lot of money, but his parents managed to buy him a rifle for deer hunting. His father worked in mills to support the family. Kitching attended school, and one time in high school, the building burned down. For fun, he would go fishing and hang out with his friends. Kitching did not realize that the United States was in a Depression because everyone was poor. He did bring in canned goods and clothes to families that were really in need. He was not aware of the rising hostilities in Europe and Asia. The attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] changed everything for him and for the nation. He was at the movies when he first learned about the event. Everyone wanted to get into the service, including Kitching. He began eating bananas every day to gain enough weight to join the military. Because of his poor eyesight, he was barred from the Navy and was instead put into the infantry. His father found a job at a shipyard building submarines. Kitching boarded a bus that took him to Fort Devens [Annotator’s Note: Fort Devens, Massachusetts] for induction into the Army. He did his basic training at Camp Blanding, Florida and described it as extremely physical. He made some vey good friends while he was in camp. He was trained to hate the Japanese. No one looked forward to fighting in the Pacific. After 17 weeks of basic training, he was assigned as a scout to Company A, 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division at Camp Butner, North Carolina. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer pauses interview to readjust camera at 0:12:17.000.]

In the fall of 1944, Charles Kitching [Annotator’s Note: assigned to the 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division] was shipped to Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts] and boarded a ship to cross the Atlantic. It took 21 days to cross the ocean with a convoy. The weather conditions were very cold and the water was very choppy. The division arrived in France and was immediately taken to the front line and entered combat along the Moselle River. They crossed the river in boats. Kitching’s most memorable combat experience was during the crossing of the Rhine River at Sankt Goarshausen [Annotator’s Note: Sankt Goarshausen, Germany]. Kitching’s squad began their crossing at two o’clock in the morning as the enemy silhouetted them by firing artillery shells into a hay barn on the American side of the river. In the attack, four men in Kitching’s squad were killed and another went missing when their boat was sunk. His unit continued crossing France, taking the towns as they went through them. Near the end of the war, many of the Germans were coming to the Americans to surrender because they did not want to be captured by the Russians. Kitching was assigned as a scout. He went out in front of his unit to find the enemy. He was shot at while riding a bicycle. They were not allowed to fraternize with the Germans, and the civilians were afraid of the American soldiers. He gave out chewing gum to many of the kids. Kitching’s company later took part in the liberation of the Ohrdruf concentration camp [Annotator’s Note: Ohrdruf Concentration camp in Thuringia, Germany was liberated by elements of the 4th Armored and 89th Infantry Divisions, 4 April 1945]. He describes the horrible scenes he witnessed while there.

When the war ended, Charles Kitching [Annotator’s Note: assigned to the 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division] was sent to a cigarette camp [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France] in France where they guarded German POWs [Annotator’s Note: prisoners of war]. He became very friendly with many of the Germans. They often made jewelry and cooked very good food. Upon returning to the United States, Kitching reenlisted for 10 months and returned to Austria for a year as a member of the 60th Constabulary. He laid cable between the Russian and American lines. He was also a tank driver and radio operator. He lived in a house with three other Americans and the lady who owned the property. She asked them if they could throw a welcome home party for her son who had been a prisoner to the Russians, which they did. The German soldier came home surprised to see Americans throwing him a party. Kitching held no animosity toward the German soldier because they were thrown into war like Americans. He recalled when his unit received the news of President Roosevelt’s death [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, died 12 April 1945], some of the G.I.s [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] cried. He chose to reenlist because he was not married and did not have enough points to go home [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. He was told that if he reenlisted for one year, he would be allowed a 60-day furlough back to the United States, an offer which Kitching accepted. When he returned to Europe for his reenlistment, things were better. The food and accommodation were nice, and life was easier as part of the Army of Occupation. He returned to the United States and was discharged as a sergeant in December 1946.

After Charles Kitching was discharged from the Army [Annotator’s Note: in December 1946], he drank a lot and talked with friends about the war to help him readjust. He used the G.I. 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] to attend college and thought it was a great benefit for veterans. He was also a member of the 52-20 club [Annotator's Note: a government-funded program that paid unemployed veterans 20 dollars per week for 52 weeks]. During his experience in World War 2, he used humor to cope, and he often thought about the waste of life the war caused.

Charles Kitching’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was crossing the Rhine River at two o’clock in the morning under enemy fire. He fought because it was mandatory and he felt obligated to do his duty for his country. Everyone did their part, even if they could not fight in combat. He does not think the war changed his life. He has always been a happy-go-lucky person. Everyone was so nice to each other during World War 2, and people went out of their way to help out servicemen. Being in the service helped him become more accepting of others and having discipline. After visiting a national cemetery, he realized how useless war is. He believes Americans know very little about World War 2. Kitching believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He appreciates the individuals who are still interested in the history of World War 2.