Donald C. Morrison was part of the 2nd Infantry Division, 38th Infantry Regiment, Company K [Annotator's Note: Company K, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division]. He was born in Stoughton, Wisconsin in May 1926. He grew up on a farm and was exempt from the draft. He tried several times to join the Navy, but never passed the physical. He left the farm to work for the local county then received a draft notice six weeks later. He was inducted into the Army on 21 August 1944. He was sent to Fort Sheridan [Annotator's Note: Fort Sheridan, Illinois] for a very short period. He was then sent to basic training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia for almost 16 weeks. He trained on heavy weapons. 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, his training came to an abrupt stop and was told he would be sent overseas after a short leave. He was sent to Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts where he was put on a boat to go overseas. He was put on duty to cut cheese for over 14,000 people. When he got to England, he recalled the weather was rainy the whole time he was there. He crossed the English Channel and made his way the Le Harve [Annotator's Note: Le Harve, France]. He continued through France to Liege, Belgium to meet the rest of the 2nd Division. Morrison contracted the mumps shortly after he met up with his division and was sent to the hospital for two weeks. When he returned to the front lines, he came down with Scarlet Fever and was sent to the hospital again, this time for three weeks. He returned to the front with the 2nd Division before they crossed the Rhine River. He remembered soon after they crossed, they received heavy shelling from the enemy, and the terrain was steep. A shell exploded near him and knocked him out. His unit thought he was dead and left him there. When he woke up, he was able to track his unit down and meet up with them to their surprise.

Donald C. Morrison and his company [Annotator's Note: Company K, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division] found a house to rest in for a few hours in a small town in Germany before they were on the march again heading towards Wiesbaden, Germany. All of a sudden, they received small armeds fire from young German boys that his unit apprehended. Morrison and his unit settled in a town called Grimma [Annotator's Note: Grimma, Germany]. Morrison had his machine gun set up in a house. They received fire for several days while they were there. His company eventually made their way to Czechoslovakia where they remained for two months. Morrison was sent home July 1945, after the war in Europe ended, with the plan to fight in the Pacific. However, after the atomic bombs were dropped and the Japanese surrendered, everything changed. Morrison was able to get a 36 day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and during that time he married his wife. He was sent to Camp Swift [Annotator's Notes: Camp Swift, Texas] with the intentions to head to the Pacific, however, his orders changed when he arrived.

[Annotator's Notes: Donald C. Morrison served in the Army on a machine gun crew in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division and took part in combat operations in the European Theater.] Donald C. Morrison was wounded after a shell had blown up near him and his New Testament book that he carried with him saved his life because he found a large piece of shrapnel stuck in it. When Morrison returned home, he was put on the USS Monticello (AP-61) with his unit. [Annotator's Note: A fire alarm goes off during interview from 0:29:53.000 to 30:03.000.] Morrison mentions some of his family members who served in the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War. He also mentioned how his wounds from the war have affected him to this day.

Donald C. Morrison believes its important to study World War 2. He thinks it is vital to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. He discusses his recent trip to Czechoslovakia and how he received wonderful treatment by the locals. He also discusses keeping up with family members.