Delbert Franklin Hackman was born on a farm near Havana, Illinois in September 1919. He grew up on a farm and worked with his family until the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] hit, and his father got a job leaving Hackman in charge of the farm. He was drafted in August 1941. It was quite a shock. At basic [Annotator's Note: basic training], he volunteered for motorcycle training and picked it up quickly. He was then sent to Armored Force Mechanic School at Fort Knox [Annotator's Note: Fort Knox, Kentucky] for three months. Following Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], a major told the men that they were all going to fight and that 45 percent of them would be killed. Hackman then went to Camp Polk [Annotator's Note: Camp Polk in Vernon Parish, Louisiana] assigned to 391 Artillery [Annotator's Note: 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion], 3rd Armored Division, outfitted with 105s mounted on half-tracks [Annotator's Note: T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage; M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer mounted on an M3 half-track, a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks].

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with the 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] was shipped out to England in early September 1942. The previous summer, German submarines had been causing a lot of damage. The Army began using more airplanes to spot them, making it safer for subsequent Atlantic trips. They arrived in Westminster, England and remained there until the invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. They held artillery practice on Salisbury Plain [Annotator's Note: in Wiltshire, England]. They were stationed near Bath [Annotator's Note: Bath, England] and would often go into town on their days off. They crossed the Channel [Annotator's Note: the English Channel] mid-June 1944, bringing over vehicles on an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. Hackman was with Headquarters Battery at this point.

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] was excited about crossing the Channel [Annotator's Note: the English Channel]. Two miles had already been taken when they arrived mid to late June [Annotator's Note: following D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. They were exhausted after unloading, so they ignored a First Sergeant's orders to dig foxholes until, in the middle of the night, there was artillery fire and suddenly everyone was digging foxholes. They landed at Omaha [Annotator's Note: Omaha Beach, Normandy, France], there were areas taped off where mines [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive device triggered by physical contact] were. He saw evidence of what had happened before their arrival, but his training prepared him for it and it did not affect him. The Red Cross [Annotator's Note: Red Cross, an international non-profit humanitarian organization] had already removed most of the bodies. During the Battle of Saint Lo[Annotator's Note: Battle of Saint-Lô, 7 to 19 July 1944 in Saint-Lo (Saint-Lô), France], Hackman's unit was protecting the fire direction center, heavily relying on FO's [Annotator's Note: forward observers]. The nights were the worst, with infiltration from the Germans. The French were very friendly and grateful to the soldiers. Hackman was with the 3rd Armored Division in the middle of Falaise [Annotator's Note: Falaise Pocket or Battle of the Falaise Pocket or Falaise-Argentan; Battle of Normandy, 12 to 21 August 1944]. He was not that close to the front as he was taking care of vehicles in the back, mostly flat tires. The nights were the worst, as it was very dark and German soldiers were trying to cross back into Germany. Mostly, they would give up, but the officers would shoot their own men to keep them from surrendering. Those that did surrender seemed anxious to give up.

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] and his unit headed to Mons, Belgium where they captured thousands of German soldiers. At this point, around August 1944, the US troops had not had a shower since they left England [Annotator's Note: in mid to late June 1944]. When finally given the chance to bathe and get clean clothes, the order to pull out was given. At Mons, the 1st Infantry [Annotator's Note: 1st Infantry Division] and 103rd Infantry [Annotator's Note: 103rd Infantry Division] joined the 3rd Armored Division. At Mons, there was a lot of fighting and many prisoners taken. On the road to Mons, they passed a scout car with two decapitated German generals inside. Hackman will never forget the sight. As they continued, he and his unit were cut off by a German tank and scout car and separated from the rest of Headquarters Battery. One of his men ran and was gunned down immediately. The tank turned on the remaining men, when four P-47s [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] arrived. God must have answered their prayers. The first bomb dropped and missed, but the second hit the German tank. Hackman was just seconds from being killed. The German platoon leader was machine gunned down; the rest of the column stayed back. Hackman's unit had a ring mount with .50 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun] on their half-track [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks], and sidearms.

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] had no preconceived ideas about the Germans. He had not had any combat training. His unit then headed towards Germany, reaching the Siegfried Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s]. It got dark before Hackman and his men could find their column. They were six men and they took cover behind a hedgerow [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation] that night for protection. It was an east-west road, with German soldiers traveling on their way back to Germany. They were so close to Hackman that he could reach out and touch them. He could tell they were tired. At daylight, Hackman and his men headed towards their column, and eventually met their First Lieutenant McGee [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], who was later killed. The US troops moved day and night towards Germany, encountering resistance in every small town they passed. Their 105s [Annotator's Note: T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage; M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer mounted on an M3 half-track, a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks] were not capable of knocking out the German pillboxes [Annotator's Note: type of blockhouse, or concrete, reinforced, dug-in guard post, normally equipped with slits for firing guns] on the Siegfried Line. US engineers were tasked with blowing up the cement defenses so that the tanks could get through. They were completely vulnerable to the Germans in the woods. Once Hackman entered Germany, the women and children were waving white flags and American flags. Hackman had heard that the German soldiers were very skilled, but they mostly ran into new recruits, very young and very old, with no training at all.

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] did not even know it was Christmas Day in 1944 [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1944]. Around February [Annotator's Note: February 1945] they had taken Cologne [Annotator's Note: Cologne (Köln), Germany], and then Remagen Bridge [Annotator's Note: Ludendorff Bridge also known as Bridge at Remagen; captured at Battle Remagen, 7 to 25 March 1945]. Around this time Hackman received his first mail in two or three months and received 32 Christmas cards from back home. He read them in a hedgerow [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation]. He did not encounter many German civilians once they entered Germany. Those they did encounter often would not even look at the US soldiers, which Hackman understood because they had suffered greatly. He did not often feel homesick or question what he was doing at war, at this point he was only concerned for his men, who were like family. Cologne had been severely bombed, except for the cathedral, by the time Hackman's group entered. There, he mostly worked repairing trucks and replacing tires. Soon after, it was time to pull out again. US troops were not allowed to talk to German civilians, though some did anyway. Nearly every night they would learn of deaths of fellow troops, people Hackman had trained with. They were still only eating K rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals], no hot meals. The loss of General Rose [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Maurice Rose, Commander 3rd Armored Division] had an effect on the troops. He was often on the front lines and was shot by a German tank commander.

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] participated in the closing of the Ruhr Pocket [Annotator's Note: the Ruhr Pocket, in the Ruhr area of Germany; April 1945]. At this point, it seemed relatively clear that the war was nearing an end. From Cologne [Annotator's Note: Cologne (Köln), Germany], the 3rd Armored Division continued toward the Elbe [Annotator's Note: Elbe River, Germany], accepting surrender from small towns along the way. Hackman heard nothing about concentration camps. They were nearing the Elbe when they learned of the German surrender [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. They were pulled back to a small town, where the Germans began shelling the US column. After the war, they were stationed near Frankfurt [Annotator's Note: Frankfurt, Germany] and some men who had 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] were sent home. Hackman was sad to see them leave after they had all been through so much together over several years. Hackman returned to the States in September 1945, after the Japanese surrender [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. During his years in service, Hackman only had two furloughs [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], neither during his deployment in Europe. Between the war's end and his return home, he did not have many responsibilities. They were not allowed to talk to Germans, whom he felt neutral towards. They had been terribly mistreated, had lost their homes, and he felt sorry for them.

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] returned to the United States by ship in September 1945. He arrived in Fort Sheridan [Annotator's Note: in Lake Forest, Illinois] and was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant. 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 study agriculture. Hackman's most memorable experience from the war was his march from Falaise [Annotator's Note: Falaise, France] to Mons, Belgium. He felt very lost when he returned home. All of his friends either remained in the service or had gotten married. Men who did not have to serve avoided Hackman for fear he would look down on them, which made him feel bad. During his time in Louisiana [Annotator's Note: at Camp Polk in Vernon Parish, Louisiana], he made friends with fellow soldier who had served with the 54th Artillery Battalion [Annotator's Note: 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division]. He received a phone call from him a few weeks after returning home and was invited to go visit him and his wife in Beardstown [Annotator's Note: Beardstown, Illinois] because there was a girl there he wanted Hackman to meet - his future wife, Doris, on this trip. He took over his father's farm. Today, Hackman sees the war as one experience of many in his lifetime but thinks about it every day. He avoids thinking about it before going to bed. Hackman was awarded the Bronze Star [Annotator's Note: the Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy] while stationed outside Frankfurt [Annotator's Note: Frankfurt, Germany]. It is important for people today to know both what soldiers and civilians went through during the war [Annotator's Note: interview ends abruptly].

Delbert Franklin Hackman [Annotator's Note: a mechanic with Headquarters Battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Armored Division] arrived to the Hurtgen Forest [Annotator's Note: Battle of Hürtgen Forest, 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945, Hürtgen (Hurtgen), Staatsforst (state forest), Germany]. Their artillery would hit trees and go off before hitting the ground. The Germans put up heavy fighting, and it was difficult to see where they were dug in. A lot of men were lost at Hurtgen. German bazookas [Annotator's Note: Panzerschreck: Raketenpanzerbuchse 54, "Rocket Anti-armor Rifle Model 54"] easily tore through US tanks. Hackman's unit was still in Hurtgen Forest when the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] began. They cut off the German supply lines at Saint Vith [Annotator's Note: Saint Vith, Belgium] after having taken Aachen [Annotator's Note: Aachen, Germany]. They were then in Stolberg [Annotator's Note: Stolberg, Germany] where it was cold and snowy, then on to France. Aachen had been a beautiful town, but the Germans would not surrender until it had been destroyed. Hackman's job as mechanic was mostly only dangerous when he had to go to the front to repair tanks, notably during the Battle of the Bulge. The support units were pretty well supplied, but the infantry suffered terribly. Their boots would get wet from walking in snow. A lot of Sherman tanks [Annotator's Note: M4 Sherman medium tank] were outfitted with sandbags or anything metal added to the front for extra protection. The Germans were well-equipped with 88s [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] in the area, which were very effective against American tanks. During the Bulge, when they started their counterattack, Hackman's unit fired a proximity fuse [Annotator's Note: proximity fuse, detonates an explosive device according to a predetermined value], a brand-new development at the time of the Bulge. Afterwards, he saw three rows of dead Germans, 75 to 80 in a row including two SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization] officers, all lying where they stood, killed before they could move. Although they did not treat SS men differently, albeit not gently either, SS men would remove their insignia if they were to be captured.