Fred Gordon was born in 1918 in Emerson, Nebraska. He was one of nine children and his father was a teacher during the Great Depression. Gordon considers himself an Iowan because he grew up more in Iowa and was educated in Iowa. During the Great Depression, his family got by because they had a garden in the summer and ate a lot of what they grew. He graduated from high school in 1936 and attended Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa [Annotator's Note: Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts until 1958, now Iowa State University or ISU]. He majored in dairy industry and hoped to be a manager of a creamery or dairy plant. While in college he had joined the Reserves Officers Training Corps, ROTC, mainly for the money. He graduated from ISU in 1940 as a second lieutenant then began working for ISU teaching students about butter and cheese making and was the college's butter maker. On 7 December 1941, Gordon was walking down the street and heard a radio announcement coming from a bookstore and tobacco store that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. He knew that he would be called into service. In January 1942 he was called to service, commissioned as a second lieutenant, and sent to Fort Des Moines, Iowa for induction into the Army. He was then sent to Fort Riley, Kansas and joined the 2nd Calvary Division. They were trained to do maneuvers with horses. Five months later, the Army decided to retire the horses and Gordon's Division was changed to the 9th Armored Division and had to be retrained on machinery. He was sent to the Mojave Desert in California to train in desert training with the intention of going to Africa. When they were ready, his division found out they were no longer needed for Africa and was sent to Camp Polk, Louisiana for European warfare training. His whole training experience delayed his division two years of combat fighting, which Gordon considers a blessing.

Fred Gordon and the whole 9th Armored Division was shipped overseas on the Queen Mary to Fort Larkin, England. They had zig-zagged [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] the whole way to avoid u-boats [Annotator's Note: German submarines]. He recalled below deck smelling like vomit all the time because so many people were seasick. For about three months his division trained in field artillery while at For Larkin. He was able to get one three-day pass to London before shipping out to France. When they were finally shipped to France, they landed on Utah Beach, loaded up on a truck and followed the rest of the Army to the combat zone. The beaches had already been secured by the time Gordon arrived. Gordon recalled that they were considered to be in the combat zone but did not really have any resistance through France. They did a lot of marching and went through lots of towns. It was not until they reached Consdorf, Luxembourg when things became serious. They were there for about a week when his commander wanted to move his unit [Annotator's Note: Battery C, 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Combat Command A, 9th Armored Division] closer to the front line in Haller, Luxembourg. He was positioned in an observation post [Annotator's Note: generally referred to simply as "OP"] overlooking a river watching for movement. The enemy started to fire, and he returned fire. For a while, Gordon was told not to fire at ambulances and carts, but they soon found out that the Germans were transporting ammunition in those types of vehicles, and he was then given orders to fire at will.

Fred Gordon recalls being under constant enemy fire for weeks. He was eventually transferred from the observation post [Annotator's Note: generally just referred to as "OP"] to battery executive officer [Annotator's Note: a unit's executive officer is its second in command]. Gordon liked this position better because it was farther from the front line. He remained at this position until the end of the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. It was not until he reached Czechoslovakia when the constant firing ceased. Gordon recalled that during the Battle of the Bulge everything was mixed up. There wasn't really a front line. He was given orders to fire into some trees and when he went to investigate the aftermath, he saw German body parts scattered everywhere.

Fred Gordon remembers two near death experiences during his combat [Annotator's Note: Gordon was an officer in Battery C, 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Combat Command A, 9th Armored Division]. While in Haller, the Germans started artillery preparations for the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Gordon was in a good position but was ordered by his commander to get a shell rap which helps determine the location of the enemy. In order to do this, he had to leave his safe position and crawl around the field dodging artillery fire from the enemy. Another close call was when he was told to take a crew to survey a road. He was taking a reading when he spotted a German patrol in the hedgerows. He was sure that they had spotted him as well. When Gordon's team caught up with him, they followed the Germans into the hedgerows but did not find them. Gordon wondered why they did not take a shot at him when he was by himself. Soon after he reached Czechoslovakia the war in Europe end. Gordon was put in charge of sending displaced people back to their place of origin. It was difficult at times because many of these people did not want to return home. [Annotator's Notes: The tapes switch at 53:12:00.000.] Right after the surrender of Germany, Gordon recalled the Russians came in and tried to claim occupation on Schwabach, Germany, which the Americans already laid claim to. After some negotiating by the commanders the Russians finally left. Gordon remarked that the Russians he met were friendly. He also remembered receiving positive responses from the local populations of Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Fred Gordon was enjoying life after the war. He was in Czechoslovakia waiting to be sent home. In the meantime, he was playing cards, relaxing at the officer's club, and writing to his wife and children. When he was finally sent home, he arrived in New York City. He eventually returned to work at Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa [Annotator's Note: Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts until 1958, now Iowa State University or ISU] until he was called to duty in the Korean War. He and his family moved to Germany for over a year. He retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. He eventually found a job working at an ice cream plant in Dallas, Texas. Gordon remarked that the Germans were excellent soldiers. They seemed to be in great physical shape. At the end of the war, he had a chance to go to the Dachau Concentration Camp but decided not to go. He remembered that he was slated to be part of the invasion of Japan and was training for it when the atomic bombs were dropped. He was happy that he did not have to go to Japan.

Fred Gordon's most memorable experience about World War 2 was being part of the division that captured Remagen Bridge crossing over the Rhine River into Germany [Annotator's Note: Gordon served as an officer in Battery C, 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Combat Command A, 9th Armored Division]. Their mission as a division was to get there before it was blown up by the Germans. This was a great victory for the United States because they were able to use this bridge to transport supplies and speed up their advance. Gordon served because he was told to, and it changed him because it put the military into his life. He served his country and he is at ease with it. He believes that Americans are free today because of the outcome of World War 2. He believes that The National WWII Museum is important because we need to let people know what went on, what happened and how it happened.