George Shenkle was born in New Jersey in 1921. His father was a clerk to the superintendent of a steel company. His father always had a job. Shenkle had one brother and two sisters. He was the oldest child. He started school in Wenonah, New Jersey. He never knew his parents had problems. One of his sisters was born in Massachusetts. He changed schools as they moved around. He graduated high school in 1939 at 17 years old. He had to falsify his age to get a job. Jobs were scarce. A loaf of bread cost five cents. His job paid 50 cents an hour. Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was a real shock. Rationing started after they got involved in the war. Shenkle was drafted. They were only given enough gasoline to get to work. He wanted to prove to his father that he could do something meaningful. He enlisted in Philadelphia [Annotator’s Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] and then was sent to Indiantown Gap [Annotator’s Note: Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania]. He joined the paratroopers. They were sent to Florida for basic training. His father was proud of him for joining the service.

George Shenkle [Annotator's Note: serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was shipped to Ireland, and then went to Nottingham [Annotator’s Note: Nottingham, England] to prepare for D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Thanks to Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.], they thought Normandy was a diversion. There were two times they froze the operations. The second time they scheduled a baseball game. They were taken from the game to the airfield. Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] told them the eyes of the world were upon them. Everyone was there. D-Day was a messed up operation. A colonel was dropped on the peninsula and it took him three days to get back. Shenkle and his unit were supposed to hold the bridges in Chef-du-Pont [Annotator’s Note: Chef-du-Pont, France]. The invasion of Utah [Annotator's Note: Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France] was successful because they were able to hold the bridges. They had confidence in their officers, but the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division [Annotator’s Note: Lieutenant General James Gavin] gave them all the confidence. They felt like he could walk on water. They hit the coast and the flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] started coming up. They were happy to get out of the air. Most of the regiment had dropped on the wrong side of the river. Shenkle was afraid he would get shot up in the air. He thought he would either make it or he would not. It was a moonlit night when they left. He would carry packs of cigarettes in his pockets. He remembers landing and climbing to the top of the hedgerow. They walked to an area where there were about 200 men sitting around. None of them knew what to do. It took three days to get enough people together to operate as a unit on the way to Hill 30. They left the wounded behind to go on the attack. Their objective was to seal the peninsula. Hill 95 was the final objective before they had to go back and get ready for their next objective.

George Shenkle [Annotator's Note: serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] had never seen the enemy, but in Holland [Annotator’s Note: Operation Market Garden; 17 to 25 September 1944; the Netherlands], they got close enough to see them. Shenkle was a radio operator in combat. He did not feel his job was to kill anyone. He went through the entire war without killing anyone. He did not get wounded until the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. During the Bulge, the unit was asked to retreat under Montgomery’s command. America does not know how to lose a war. Europeans fight wars differently because when they lose, they lose their country. Soldiers do what is expected of them. Shenkle did not let himself become friends with others. He was 21 years old when he went in. The war made him a real believer in Christianity and divine intervention.

George Shenkle [Annotator's Note: serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was brought back to England from Utah Beach [Annotator's Note: Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944] to get ready for the next operation. Shenkle was granted a one-week furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. He went to London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] and caught a transport plane back to Ireland. He thought a girl he met in Ireland deserved a goodbye. Northern Ireland was a free state. Ireland was a wonderful country. In September, they jumped into Holland [Annotator’s Note: Operation Market Garden; 17 to 25 September 1944; the Netherlands]. The objective was to seize the bridges so that the British could bring tanks up. Europeans fight wars differently because if they lose, they lose their country. They had to oversee one of the launch sites for V-2s [Annotator's Note: German Vergeltungswaffe 2, or Retribution Weapon 2, ballistic missile]. The V-bombs were already hitting London. They buzzed as they went over and people would run for cover. One of the major objectives was to run down the launch sites of the V-2s to stop the bombs from raining down on London. The German soldiers were better trained and they had been in the war longer. Shenkle remembers getting into Nijmegen [Annotator’s Note: Nijmegen, Holland] and wondering when the war was going to start. After they captured the bridge, they had to retake the drop zone. The people in the Netherlands were the most gracious and the most thankful.

George Shenkle [Annotator's Note: serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was instructed that following orders saved lives. They had to walk 10 miles before they were picked up. When nurses came onto the scene, enlisted men were deprived of female companionship. There was no way to control the venereal disease [Annotator’s Note: Venereal diseases are commonly referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)]. The Army hospital brought in nurses. He remembers going to the movies and when he got back, they had to pack up. They rode all day in open trucks. The driver of Shenkle’s truck got lost and had to find his way back to the convoy. It was their job to hold the line and allow American troops to withdraw. The German armor was heavy. On Christmas Eve [Annotator’s Note: of 1944], they used an operation of delaying forces. They pulled back. They were given a hot Christmas dinner the day after Christmas. The Germans were good with artillery. At Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], one of the last objectives was Hill 95. They went into the operation with a captain as the highest ranking officer. The colonel commanded from behind. He never got close enough to get wounded.

George Shenkle [Annotator's Note: serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] remembers digging foxholes. There were cases of trench foot [Annotator's Note: immersion foot syndrome]. Shenkle was shot taking a house in a small village in Belgium. He walked back to the aid station. From there he was transported by ambulance to Birmingham. He asked if anyone was in the building. He turned and a shot went through his shoulder. He told the lieutenant he would walk to the aid station. He was given an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine] to walk back. He was taken by ambulance to Liege [Annotator’s Note: Liege, Belgium]. The buzz bombs [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] were still going over. Then he was flown to an Army hospital in Birmingham, England. It took him three months to get back to his unit through the replacement depots. He wanted to get back to Nottingham [Annotator’s Note: Nottingham, England] to see a girl he was dating. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Then he had enough time to get a furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and went to Nice, France. He spent a week there.

George Shenkle [Annotator's Note: serving with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] remembers as the European war was winding down, they were in a small town in France. They would buy ingredients to make a salad. He got married and had five children. It was their job to jump in if the Germans started to destroy the concentration camps. Then they were moved into occupation duty. People were willing to work for food. They gave the people their leftover food. Shenkle had compassion for them. They took over an apartment complex one time and did not care where the people went. Shenkle knew how to do tailoring work. He was glad he made it through the war without killing someone. Some people have to live with themselves. In Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], many of the German uniforms were worn by people who were overrun by the German Army. They just wanted to surrender. Some guys took pleasure in killing.