George W. McCarthy was born in April 1925 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He father worked as a lumberman, but lost his business when the economy collapsed, and the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] set in. He later opened a grocery and feed store. McCarthy went to school at Sacred Heart Catholic School [Annotator's Note: in Hattiesburg, Mississippi], and when he was old enough, got a job on a paper route. He attended Hattiesburg High School and worked at his father's store. After he graduated, he worked at a camp up in Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] during the summer. He returned home and found work at Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: in Hattiesburg, Mississippi] in the postal department until he entered the service in August 1943. He reported to Camp Van Dorn [[Annotator's Note: in Amite and Wilkinson Counties, Mississippi] for his basic training, and then did advanced training in infantry. He was shipped overseas in April 1944 and remained in England until late June [Annotator's Note: June 1944]. He then went through a replacement unit in France and joined Company F, 2nd Battalion, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. His unit fought through the hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation] up through August 1944. They crossed the Seine River onto an isle but were captured by the Germans. He became a prisoner of war. The Germans loaded him and the other POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] into boxcars and transferred them to Stalag 12B [Annotator's Note: Stalag XII-B in Frankenthal, Germany] and then to Stalag 4B [Annotator's Note: Stalag IV-B in Mühlberg, Germany]. Later in September [Annotator's Note: September 1944], he and 60 other POWs were sent to a work camp. His group worked in a factory making some sort of bags. He never found out what they were used for. He often shoveled coal or worked in the cutting room, where the material was cut. He worked at the factory every day until 19 April 1945. He worked with other Germans. He felt fortunate to be in this camp because he did not receive bad treatment by the guards. During the night, he was given food, which was a piece of bread and turnip-like soup. McCarthy and some of the other prisoners were able to collect items to barter with when the unloaded goods for the German military. He also would take showers in the factory when the German workers left for the day. The camp he was assigned to sat between a major highway and a railroad station. Sometime in February [Annotator's Note: February 1945] and March [Annotator's Note: March 1945] , he saw American prisoners march through and observed how pitiful they looked. He vowed he would not be forced to march. The day came when the Germans told the prisoners at the camp that they would be heading out the next day on a march towards the south. McCarthy and another prisoner escaped from camp when the guards were distracted. They came upon a German World War I veteran who hid them for two weeks until the Americans rescued McCarthy and his fellow inmate on 6 May 1945.

George W. McCarthy was a senior in high school and with friends when he found out about the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. After the war, he reunited with some of his fellow POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war], and they discussed what they could remember about their time at the factory [Annotator's Note: as a prisoner of war at Stalag IV-B in Mühlberg, Germany, he was sent to a slave labor camp]. McCarthy was liberated by an American cavalry unit and went to Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France]. He returned to the United States. He received a 60-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and went to Miami, Florida for R and R [Annotator's Note: rest and recuperation]. Then he reported for duty as an NCO [Annotator's Note: non-commissioned officer] for the postal department at Camp Blanding [Annotator's Note: in Clay County, Florida]. Right before he was discharged, he was sent to Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: in Hattiesburg, Mississippi] and discharged in December 1945. He enrolled at Southern [Annotator's Note: University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi] and found work at the Child's Service Department. He also attended school at Tulane [Annotator's Note: Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana]. In 1950, he was reactivated for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] because he had joined the National Guard while he was at Southern. He had received a commission in the medical corps. Because of the number of 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] he had in service, he never had to be shipped overseas. From 1953 to 1986, he worked in several state positions in social services departments. He remained in the National Guard Reserves and retired as a lieutenant colonel. McCarthy reunited with some of his former POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] inmates that were at the same camp that he was. He met one fellow inmate after seeing his New Mexico car tag with the POW sign on it and a 90th Infantry Division sticker on his windshield.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], George W. McCarthy knew that he was going to war, especially after FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] declared war on the Japanese the next day. McCarthy has no memory of going overseas and does not remember the seeing the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] that were in his camp that he reunited with later in life. McCarthy and a friend from training went overseas together and were assigned to the same unit [Annotator's Note: Company F, 2nd Battalion, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division] . On the first day of arrival, McCarthy and his friend stuck together because they did not know anyone else. They dug a foxhole behind a hedgerow [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation] knowing that the Germans were on the other side. The first night, the Germans attempted to bring a tank on the road. McCarthy witnessed the tank killing several new replacements that did not have a chance to pull out their rifles. He received orders to help the first battalion. The Germans surrounded them. McCarthy and his unit were forced to surrender. The Germans gathered the prisoners and transferred them by a boxcar through Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France]. He was taken to a camp and forced to work in a factory as a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war]. McCarthy and the rest of the prisoners were always talked about food. Most of the German guards were young, but there was one older man. The guards treated the prisoners well and even conversed with the prisoners without cruelty towards them.

George W. McCarthy was a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] in Europe during World War 2. While he was in camp, he only heard news updates from the German guards. He was told by one of the guards that FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] was killed in a plane crash. He did not find out how he really died until after World War 2. McCarthy doubts that the German guards knew much about what was going on. McCarthy saw a newspaper about American civilians fighting over cigarettes and silk stockings and how Americans were suffering from all the rationing. He learned later that this was all propaganda. Overall, he did not receive much news about the war. Most conversations between the prisoners were about food. When he was taken to Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France] after he was liberated, he ate white chicken, mashed potatoes, ice cream, and milk. When he was a prisoner, someone snuck in a cabbage. It was so delicious. There were no escape attempts during his time at the camp because the trek back towards the Americans was extremely difficult. Near the end of the war, Americans began strafing the area near the camp and railroad. McCarthy and another prisoner escaped and hid with a German civilian for some time before being liberated by Americans. McCarthy tried to contact the German after the war, but he never made contact with him again. Later in life, McCarthy made a trip with his family back to the area of the camp and visited the factory he worked at while he was a POW. He also visited Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France] and met the regiment that captured him during World War 2. McCarthy was given a pewter plate from the German commander that captured him. McCarthy is appreciative that he lived through his POW experience. He respects the guards who kept him alive. Other POWs were not as lucky.

George W. McCarthy had lost 57 pounds when he was liberated from a prisoner of war camp. It did not take him very long get his weight back once he was given food to eat. He is thankful that he was not in a Japanese prison camp. [Annotator's Note: McCarthy is interrupted by someone coming in the room at 1:16:35.000.] He is thankful that he lived through his experience and that his relationship with his captors have improved over the years. He feels lucky he did not receive bad treatment from the German guards. After the war, he came home, was discharged, went to school, and moved on with his life. He did not think about his war experiences until later in life. He knows several former POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] that have posttraumatic stress [Annotator's Note: posttraumatic stress disorder, also called PTSD, a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event either experienced or witnessed], but it did not affect him that way. He does not know what would happen to him if he did not serve in the military. He was not planning on going to college but was able to because of the G.I. benefits [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]. There should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. It is important for veterans as well. As years go by, it will be more difficult to keep people interested in the subject. He is surprised by some of the questions he got when he spoke in front of students