Fred Topel was born in May 1922 in Minneapolis [Annotator's Note: Minneapolis, Minnesota] but grew up in Golden Valley, a somewhat rural suburb of Minneapolis. His father was a truck gardener, raising vegetables and flowers, which he would sell at the Minneapolis city market. He had a nice childhood. He had a sister, and a brother who died at just eight years old. Topel helped out around the farm. The Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] was hard on their family. Topel helped plant the vegetables and flowers. He also participated in the 4-H club [Annotator's Note: a network of youth organizations] and raised a pig.

Fred Topel decided to go into the National Guard with a few other friends. He was only 16 years old, so he had to lie that he was 18 in order to join. His family needed some extra cash, so his parents allowed him to go in. He was inducted in February 1941, before the war broke out. They trained on different equipment. Initially they trained on French 75s [Annotator's Note: Canon de 75 modèle 1897; French-made 75mm gun], then once they arrived in England were armed with British 25-pounders [Annotator's Note: Ordnance QF 25-pounder] before finally receiving American-made 105s [Annotator's Note: M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer] while in Italy. The French gun was awkward. It did its job, but was not as good as the 105s. The British gun was very accurate. Topel was at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana when Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Then in February of the following year [Annotator's Note: 1942] they were moved to Fort Dix, New Jersey. The attack made them all very angry. They knew it meant war, and were expecting to be sent to Europe.

Fred Topel was sent overseas, first stopping in Ireland around March and taying through November [Annotator's Note: of 1942]. There, they trained for the invasion of North Africa [Annotator's Note: Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa; 8 to 16 November 1942]. They loaded out of Belfast [Annotator's Note: Belfast, Ireland] by ship, went through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea, and went ashore on 8 November, landing outside of Algiers [Annotator's Note: Algiers, Algeria]. The landing was awkward, they had needed more practice. It was scary because things were not going right. They would climb down a rope ladder from a larger ship onto a smaller boat that had a front that would drop [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] for them to run out of the boat and onto land. Sometimes they had to wade through the water to get in. Topel carried a knapsack on his back, a rifle, ammunition and a bit of food. Once on the beach, they assembled into units and began correcting all that had gone wrong. They remained in Algiers for eight or nine days and then the men were separated from the division [Annotator's Note: 34th Infantry Division] as an artillery unit and were attached to a British group further east. Topel and his unit traveled through Tunisia to join that group. They went through a snow storm and finally arrived at Majaz al Bab [Annotator's Note: Majaz al Bab, Tunisia]. The Germans were across the river from there. Topel's unit also supported a French infantry unit. They were quipped with British 25-pounders [Annotator's Note: Ordnance QF 25-pounder] to face the German 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery]. It was scary to be fired at with that gun. The shells scream and whistle through the air. He had been trained for combat, and so did not feel any shock when he was finally in actual combat. Topel found the British soldiers dependable. Topel was on an OP, or observation post, to see where the enemy was in order to fire at them. The radios were lousy and did not work half the time. He remained in that area for just about a week supporting the French.

After going through the African Campaign [Annotator's Note: Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa, 8 to 16 November 1942; the Tunisian Campaign, 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943] Fred Topel and his unit [Annotator's Note: 34th Infantry Division] began preparing for the landing in Italy [Annotator's Note: the Allied invasion of Italy, 3 to 17 September 1943]. The British disliked Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] for having shown them up in Africa and into Sicily [Annotator's Note: Patton commanded the US 7th Army in the invasion of Sicily, essentially outdoing British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery]. Topel's unit landed south of Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy], and could see Mount Vesuvius from where they landed. The Germans soon began moving north through Italy, and the 34th followed. They moved just about every day. The Germans held Cassino [Annotator's Note: the Battle of Monte Cassino, January 1944]. The Americans sent over Flying Fortresses [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] and began shelling and bombing Monte Cassino. The mountainous terrain was difficult to traverse. Topel, as an artilleryman, did not make as much contact with the enemy as the infantrymen. Their shelling would disrupt the enemy so that Allied troops could move forward. Topel also made a landing on the other side of Rome [Annotator's Note: likely at Anzio, Italy where the 34th Infantry Division landed on 25 March 1944]. They eventually took Rome [Annotator's Note: 5 June 1944].

Fred Topel went from Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy] to Leghorn [Annotator's Note: Leghorn or Livorno, Italy] and Pisa [Annotator's Note: Pisa, Italy]. They crossed the Po River in northern Italy and went into the Italian Alps. Topel also saw Florence, Italy and it was worth the trip. Topel, serving in the 34th Infantry Division, coincidentally captured the German 34th Division. By the time they reached the Swiss border, the war ended. Topel had more than 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 returned home and got married. In 1969, Topel and his wife visited Germany and Italy. When the war ended, Topel took a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] from Florence to Miami, making several stops around the world to get there. The trip took about 15 days. He was happy to see his girlfriend who was working in Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] at the time. He had no problems readjusting to civilian life. He was discharged from Fort Snelling [Annotator's Note: in Hennepin County, Minnesota]. He did not want to stay in the Army as a career, but did stay in the Reserves for the extra money. He worked at a printing company for a time, and also worked as a milk man for a few months. His wife went into the antique business. They traveled all over the United States looking for antiques.

Fred Topel was called in for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] and was flown to Kodiak, Alaska. He served in an air squadron. He and his wife had three children at the time, and he was able to get out of the service because he was a father. What Topel remembers most about World War 2 is when his best friend was killed in Cassino, Italy. [Annotator's Note: Topel gets emotional talking about his friend.] His friend was a forward observer for artillery. A mortar [Annotator's Note: a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles] shell landed right behind him and killed him. Topel takes comfort knowing that his friend did not suffer because he did not know what hit him. The image of dead soldiers, including his friend, on the back of a truck remains with Topel. He had a close call once when on Mount Patano [Annotator's Note: Monte Patano near the Italian Austrian border], and they [Annotator's Note: units of the 34th Infantry Division] were assaulted by 155mm cannon fire. His radio operator was injured. [Annotator’s Note: There is a break in the video.]

Fred Topel did not care very much for the Germans during the war, but he felt sorry for some of them. The British sometimes got violent with their prisoners. Topel realized they were people just like him, who did not want to be there either. He and his wife later visited Germany [Annotator's Note: to buy items for their antique business]. Topel understands that the British were angrier with the Germans than the Americans because their homeland had been attacked and bombed. For a time, Topel stayed on the land of the Duke or Argyll in northern Ireland. The men were sometimes invited into the castle until the Duke accused someone of stealing. Topel served because his National Guard unit [Annotator's Note: the 34th Infantry Division] was activated. He did not have a choice. He was away from home for almost five years. He does not talk about the war much. His son later served in Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975], and knows that they do not talk about war.