Clarence Gomberg was born in July 1922 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He had an older brother, but he died at a young age from scarlet fever. He grew up with one younger brother and one younger sister. His parents were Russian immigrants who came to America during the Russian Revolution [Annotator’s Note: 1917-1923]. After Gomberg graduated from high school in 1943, he was drafted into the Army. Gomberg refused to go into the Navy because he did not like swimming. He was sent to Camp Lee, Virginia for Quartermaster Corps training. He was assigned to repair typewriters and printing. He was then transferred to Camp Ellis, Illinois for medical training. In September 1943, he was sent to Camp Edwards, Massachusetts by train. The train stopped in Pittsburg and he hoped to see his parents, but he was forced to stay on the train. When he arrived at Camp Edwards, he was assigned as quartermaster with the 3116th Service Command Unit. He met his bunkmate, John Silvia, from Rhode Island. He helped Silvia sneak out of camp to see his pregnant wife before he was shipped overseas. While he was at Camp Edwards, he was put on guard duty along the coast. When his unit was sent to Camp Myles Standish [Annotator’s Note: Myles Standish, Massachusetts] in December 1943, they boarded an Army transport ship and crossed the ocean. During the voyage, his convoy was attacked by two submarines and one ship was lost. His ship docked at Swansea, Wales and was then transported to Camp Crookston near Glasgow [Annotator’s Note: Glasgow, Scotland]. He stayed in a Quonset hut [Annotator's Note: prefabricated metal building] with seven other men. He slept on a bunk and had a coal stove. He had more medical training in Glasgow. While in Glasgow, he had a weekend liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. He and his friends hit the bars and then got a tattoo.

In December 1943, Clarence Gomberg served in the Army as a quartermaster in the 3116th Service Command Unit and was sent overseas to Glasgow, Scotland. He formed close and lasting friendships with some of the men. Gomberg left Glasgow in May 1944 and went to Southampton [Annotator’s Note: Southampton, England] at a repo depot [Annotator’s Note: replacement depot] camp. He crossed the English Channel on 12 June 1944 and landed at Utah Beach and traveled with an infantry unit until they got to Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France]. When he reached Paris, he was assigned as a medic and transferred to a hospital train unit, which became Hospital Train 5, also referred to as the 78th Hospital Train, transporting wounded servicemen across Europe. When the train reached Aachen, Germany, he saw how the city was leveled, but they found Coca-Cola in a basement. The train consisted of 10 cars, and each car carried 30 patients. There were also two ambulatory cars. The make up of the staff was two medical doctors, two nurses, two administration officers, and other medical corps. On 6 October 1944, Gomberg was treating an Army man in a foxhole when he was hit by some shrapnel in his fingers. One of the doctors treated his fingers. In another incident, the hospital train was hit and his car fell in a gully. He hurt his back but came out otherwise unscathed. They unhooked the car and the train continued on their way. Gomberg was issued a .45 pistol [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol] and had to ride with the French engineers to make sure they would not jump off the train. He had a camera and took several pictures throughout his time in Europe. Gomberg was raised in a Jewish family, but he was not very religious himself. He did not feel any antisemitism towards him.

Clarence Gomberg served as a medic on Hospital Train 5, also referred to as the 78th Hospital Train. The first time he heard about concentration camps was when he drove up to Buchenwald [Annotator's Note: Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany]. Unaware of what the camp was truly for, he walked into the camp, saw the ovens, and then saw bodies piled in a building that had a horrible odor. He met a boy, Mike, at the camp and he stayed with Meyer until Meyer received orders to report to Le Havre [Annotator’s Note: Le Havre, France] to return to the United States. When Meyer left the United States, he handed Mike off to the Jewish Welfare Board. Gomberg talked about how there were men from all over the United States in his unit. Meyer landed in the United States in March 1946. He found a job in a print shop and married in 1948. He received antisemitism from the printing unions, so he worked in a non-union company. He did a lot of work for Veterans Affairs after the war and helped developed a veterans’ home in his local area.

Clarence Gomberg’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was the camaraderie. Everyone got along with each in his unit. He served in war because he was asked to by the government. He feels sympathy for the servicemen that fought in the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975] and the present conflicts. Gomberg describes himself as a very shy guy and kept quiet for a while after the war. He was so appreciative of the crew he was with during his service. It is a time that he will never forget. He remembered how he pulled two guys out of a burning tank and dropped them in the snow. They were immediately given treatment.