Gerald Claassen was born in Buffalo Center, Iowa in December 1920. His father died at the age of 26 when Claassen was only five years old, and his grandparents took the family in. He grew up working on his grandparents’ farm during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. After graduating high school in 1938, Claassen planned to get a job until he was notified that he was being awarded a scholarship to a local community college in Iowa Falls, Iowa. He took advantage of it and took classes there for two years then transferred to Iowa State University [Annotator’s Note: in Ames, Iowa] to complete his undergraduate degree. Claassen was on campus at Iowa State the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. It was his 21st birthday. After learning of the attack, all the male students went to the student union. They gathered there to discuss what they planned to do. Some said they would enlist. Others said they would go to Canada to avoid being drafted. Claassen is sure that 99 percent or more of the guys, even those that said they would dodge the draft, entered the military and served during the war. When Claassen was a senior, he paid a visit to his draft board and requested that he be allowed to complete his degree before the board drafted him. Since he was only a few months from graduating, they allowed him to do so. In June of 1942, Claassen graduated. Ten days later, he was drafted, but he was fine with the arrangement and looked forward to military life. He had taken military courses while in college and believed that that benefited him when he went into service. He was sworn in at Des Moines, Iowa, boarded a train, and headed to Colorado. He arrived at Camp Carson [Annotator’s Note: Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado] and stayed there for six months for basic training. He played a lot of touch football while he was there. He completed his training and had the opportunity to apply for OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school] and was accepted into field artillery officer school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He had no experience in artillery, so he spent many Sundays and a lot of his free time out on the range to become familiar with the equipment. He graduated with a commission as a second lieutenant. After his graduation, he went to St. Paul [Annotator’s Note: St. Paul, Minnesota] and got married in 1943. Claassen and his new bride went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he was assigned to a cadre for field artillery officer training school for 11 months. He enjoyed training cadets, especially southerners.

Gerald Claassen reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina with his new bride, where he was assigned to a cadre for field artillery officer training school for 11 months. He trained men who had just entered the service and taught them the articles of war, maintenance of heavy vehicles, and field artillery and tactics. He also took the men on marches and taught them flag etiquette. He helped a lot of the southerners who could not read to write to their families. He became close to many of the trainees. When he left Fort Bragg, many of the trainees threw him a farewell party. He applied for field artillery school in Kansas, but he was not allowed to bring his wife so he brought his wife to St. Paul [Annotator’s Note: St. Paul, Minnesota] instead. While he was transporting his wife, he received new orders for oversea duties as a replacement officer. His role as a replacement officer was difficult because he felt he did not have a role. He was assigned to the 109th Field Artillery Battalion, 28th Infantry Division. Parts of his job were cruel, especially when he ordered new second lieutenants to go out with a radio operator and jeep to spot the Germans and he would never see them again. That was how expendable the military thought these men were. When the war was over, he was out in his jeep overlooking an area. He had a package from his wife thinking it was cookies and waited to open it when the war was over. When the time came, he opened it to find rubber shoe covers. His transportation overseas was horrible. He was on a British ship that was in a convoy, and it took three weeks to cross the Atlantic. Everyone was sick. The ventilation was poor in the hole of the ship where the soldiers’ living quarters were located. Claassen spent most of his time on deck. The return trip to the United States was much better and it only took five days to return home. When the war ended, he was sent to Kaiserslautern [Annotator’s Note: Kaiserslautern, Germany] where prisoners from Russia were being held. His job was to prepare the prisoners to go home. However, he later learned that many of them were shipped to Russian DP [Annotator’s Note: displaced persons] camps. Claassen attended occupation troop school in Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France] after the war in Europe ended to learn how to treat occupied people. While in Paris, he met many Parisians and did a lot of sightseeing. He soon received orders to go home. He went to Le Havre [Annotator’s Note: Le Havre, France] and left for America.

Gerald Claassen was sent overseas to Europe and assigned to the 109th Field Artillery Battalion, 28th Infantry Division in the Hürtgen Forest [Annotator’s Note: The Battle of Hürtgen Forest, 19 September to 16 December 1944; the Hürtgen Forest, east of the Belgian-German border]. He then participated 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]. He recalled 16 December 1944 when his unit was the first to encounter the Germans. He was billeted in a house and his regiment was spread thin along the lines. At night, his artillery fired a couple rounds to let the Germans know they were there. He could hear Germans coming through the fences and taking over their artillery. Everyone retreated towards Clervaux [Annotator’s Note: Clervaux, Luxembourg] where the headquarters were located. His regiment was issued more guns and given new orders, but they had to destroy their guns when they reached a dead end. On the first night of the retreat, he slept in a pile of manure. At one point, he was warned by a civilian not to go down a certain route because Germans had a trap there. The civilian saved his life. The weather was horrible, and many soldiers developed trench foot [Annotator's Note: immersion foot syndrome]. His regiment was given C rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food] that included two cigarettes. The mess sergeant always tried to prepare hot food for the men. After the first day of he Bulge, he reached the outskirts of Bastogne [Annotator’s Note: Bastogne, Belgium] and stayed there until the weather improved and Americans began flying planes again.

Gerald Claassen was sent overseas to Europe and assigned to the 109th Field Artillery Battalion, 28th Infantry Division and was forced to retreat from the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] to Bastogne, Belgium. He stayed there waiting for the Germans to surround them and attack them. When the battle came to an end, he received orders to head for Kaiserslautern [Annotator’s Note: Kaiserslautern, Germany] to assist with a displaced persons camp, then later attended school in Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France] before going to Le Havre [Annotator’s Note: Le Havre, France] to go home. The Battle of the Bulge was the worst action Claassen was in. During Christmas 1944, he saw burnt presents that were meant to be given by outside soldiers. Claassen was never wounded during his service in World War 2. While he was overseas, he had to visit a dentist and he was amazed by the tools and drills the dentist had to drill his tooth. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:55:27.000 and 0:55:35.000.] He was out in his jeep at an outpost when the war in Europe ended. When the war ended, he was sent to Kaiserslautern [Annotator’s Note: Kaiserslautern, Germany] where prisoners from Russia were being held. His job was to prepare the prisoners to go home. He communicated with the Russians through an interpreter and hand gestures. He talked about the Russian officers and how much they drank and celebrated. One time, Claassen drank so much that he got sick and a local civilian had to bring him to his house. He got along well with the Russian officers.

Gerald Claassen was sent home by way of Le Havre [Annotator’s Note: Le Havre, France] and was given a 30-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] before being sent to Japan. When his ship landed in New York, it received a great reception by the civilians. He was then sent to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. In 30 days, he was to report to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. He was then sent to California to ride troop trains. The sergeant told him he needed to report to Camp McCoy to be discharged because he had enough 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]. A week later, he boarded a train to Camp McCoy where he was separated from service in February 1946 as a first lieutenant. He was so glad he did not have to participate in the invasion of Japan. He did not take advantage of the G.I. Bill [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] because he would have to restart as a freshman because he wanted to go into chiropractic practice. He was able to secure a job before he separated from the service and worked in an American Crystal Sugar plant in Mason City, Iowa. He had difficulty finding a house for he and his wife to live in. He did not have any trouble transitioning from military to civilian life because he had a job lined up.

Gerald Claassen’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was getting married because he could afford it by being an officer. He had a wonderful marriage and wife. He also remembers his time during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] and the surprise attack by the Germans. Claassen fought in World War 2 because he did not want Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] to take over the United States. He admired Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945] and Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.]. The war changed his life completely and made it successful. The Army was very good to him. His service is recognized by the American Legion. He thinks World War 2 means a lot to America today. Claassen believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.