Harvey Segal was born in May 1925 in Roxbury, Massachusetts [Annotator's Note: Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston]. Although the family was poor during the Depression, his father went into business as a tailor. Life was not bad for the four children and their parents. Segal has a brother and two sisters. The neighborhood was low income but very friendly. He enjoyed his early life. He was not a great student but he got by. His father was from Russia but his mother grew up around Boston. The war events in Europe never were discussed by the family or in school. Segal was 16 years old and in high school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was playing cards with his friends when the attack was announced over the radio. Segal had no idea where Pearl Harbor was located. The incident brought the country together. People were quick to join the service and factories began to hum. Items were rationed creating some hardships, but people kept focused on defeating the enemy. Segal's father began to make raincoats for the government. His business survived due to the war. Segal enjoyed sports during the early part of the war. He did not know he would be called upon to serve until the draft was instituted. By the time Segal graduated, most of the boys in his class had already entered the military. The class celebration for completion of school was very subdued. After briefly working following his graduation, Segal then went into the Army. He was drafted despite being underweight. Segal wanted to serve. He sort of regretted that a little later. [Annotator's Note: Segal laughs.]

Harvey Segal wanted to serve his country after he was drafted. He was inducted at Fort Devens [Annotator's Note: in Massachusetts] and then went to boot camp in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He received advanced training and then went to Fort Meade [Annotator's Note: in Maryland] for overseas deployment. He returned to Boston where he was put on an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] for the voyage. Only 50 soldiers were on the vessel. They traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia where they joined a convoy. They departed in February [Annotator's Note: February 1944] during very rough seas. It took 20 days to cross the Atlantic and reach England. The men were stationed in Wales for additional training. They received artillery training while there. Segal began to be nervous about what would happen next. The men in his outfit [Annotator's Note: 37th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division] were concerned about the future. They complained about the officers even though they got along with them fairly well. Segal always felt he would make it back to the United States. After Wales, the outfit was sent to Southampton, England on 4 or 5 June. They set out on the Channel on 6 June. They saw hundreds of planes flying over them. The invasion was started [Annotator's Note: the Normandy invasion began 6 June 1944], but Segal's unit was initially kept close to the English coast.

Harvey Segal reached the French coast. He had to board a landing craft after taking off his 80 pound pack. The timing of embarking on the boat was risky with its movement in the sea. Some men were injured because of bad synchronization. Segal landed in Normandy on 8 June [Annotator's Note: 8 June 1944]. Although the fighting was further inland, there were hundreds of body bags containing the remains of boys lost in action during the storming of the beach. Large scale efforts were underway for unloading of supplies for the troops. Segal looked at the situation and felt a twinge of fear for what lay ahead for him. He marched about five miles inland to where the front was and was told to dig a foxhole in a field. He discovered a slit trench and attempted to use it. It was quite shallow but roots prevented him from further excavation. That night, Segal experienced incoming artillery fire. He knew he was at war as the shells screamed toward his position. Fear gripped Segal once again. He tried to dig deeper for his foxhole but could not. Later, he felt exhilaration for surviving the shelling. Some men could not take the heavy enemy fire. Some soldiers broke down and cried afterward. This was a time when Segal felt he had perhaps made a mistake by pressing to join the Army. [Annotator's Note: Segal aasked his induction examination doctor to accept his underweight condition and permit him to become a soldier. He chuckles at the memory.] Segal's assignment was with the wire group who strung communication wire between the 105mm artillery and the fire control center [Annotator's Note: for a gun battery in the 37th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division]. When enemy fire broke the wiring, Segal and his group had to repair the break or run new wire to reestablish communication links. Advancing through the hedgerows became very problematic. The German defenses used the terrain to their advantage. It took a couple of months before the massive air support aided in disrupting the German defenses. It facilitated a breakout of the American forces. The race through France was on. The Germans retreated before the advancing Allies. Segal's outfit moved on toward Brest which was a seaport used for logistical support. Segal lost two of his buddies during this time. They were killed by German artillery. The troops continued their movement across France.

Harvey Segal fought through France and then into Luxembourg and Belgium. His battalion [Annotator's Note: 37th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division] reached the Belgian-German border and the Siegfried Line. The Americans took over a German village [Annotator's Note: name inaudible] and were living well. Segal even received a 12 hour pass to Paris. He enjoyed his limited time there. After being a member of a wire company which strung communication wire, Segal volunteered to be part of a forward observer crew. He was with the infantry on the front lines. From his observation post, he would report coordinates to fire control and then define adjustment requirements before directing the artillery to fire for effect. Frequently under enemy machine gun fire, he managed to dig further in his foxhole for cover. He was often frightened and ducked a lot. His lieutenant was wounded and Segal assumed that responsibility. Segal's officer would survive those wounds. There was a period of quiet in the fighting while the Germans were building up their forces. Segal's division [Annotator's Note: 2nd Infantry Division] was withdrawn from their position in order to prepare for the upcoming assault into Germany. They were replaced by a fresh division from the United States. It was upsetting for Segal's 2nd Division because they had settled into the area and it had become relatively quiet. Shortly thereafter, the German offensive began with a heavy shelling by artillery. [Annotator's Note: The Battle of the Bulge commenced on 16 December 1944.] The artillery was followed by German machine gun fire. The division next to the 2nd was overrun. Most of the American soldiers in that division were taken prisoner. Segal would meet one of those captured Americans after the war. The soldier was Jewish so the Germans put him in a concentration camp. He was not treated as a prisoner of war. He was treated as a slave. The man was able to escape and rejoin American forces. Segal and his battalion [Annotator's Note: 37th Field Artillery Battalion] were in the town of Elsenborn and under attack by the Germans. They were surrounded on three sides. The Germans were about to overrun the Americans when their tanks stopped and the crews ran away. The panzers had run out of fuel. It was fortunate because the American batteries were running low on ammunition. The Americans were even considering withdrawing prior to the Germans retreating. Ammunition was finally brought up to the Americans. They were able to hold off the enemy.

Harvey Segal knew nothing of the concentration camps before he entered Germany. When he and his battalion [Annotator's Note: 37th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division] entered Germany, they witnessed large scale surrenders by the enemy. When Segal and a buddy entered a German village and fired a shot at a German soldier, a hundred or so of the enemy came out of houses and surrendered to the two Americans in their jeep with a machine gun mounted to it. They brought the prisoners back to the American lines. Prior to this, when Segal was nearly surrounded at Elsenborn, he was determined not to give up to the enemy. Following delivery of the prisoners to the MPs [Annotator's Note: military police], Segal and his fellow captor were punished for not completing their assignment. They had to dig latrines for a month. Then the advance into Germany was rapid as more and more enemy soldiers surrendered. Segal was tasked to scout out a location ahead of the battalion that could be used for a headquarters. While doing so, they encountered an American tank. The tankers told them to drive forward and look at the strange setup that was ahead. Segal proceeded and found an eerie situation. There was tall fencing with wiring on top. It was peculiar because of the quiet. He saw a gate to a camp and drove through. [Annotator's Note: The camp was a sub-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp.] The stench was terrible. There were no toilet facilities for the inmates. The dead bodies were left to rot in the open air. The smell lingered with Segal for long after. Bodies were lying all over the ground. The living inmates were skeletons in a stupor. Segal felt he was in hell. He could not believe what he was seeing. He was near to becoming sick to his stomach. When he approached people, they ran from him. He tried to convince them that he was Jewish and there to help them. One of the inmates told Segal that he wanted to pray the Kaddish for the dead. Segal gave them his food. When Segal entered the barracks, he saw people piled up. They were moaning and crying. The worst part was after Segal inquired if there were children in the camp. He was shown a hay wagon that contained bodies of children. [Annotator's Note: Segal becomes emotional.] The Americans liberated the camp and brought in doctors and medical supplies. Segal and his battalion next moved further through Germany. He had a difficult time talking about his concentration camp memories for 50 or 60 years. He came to the realization that he had to share those horrible experiences with the next generation. It was so awful to see the monstrosity of what had been done to the prisoners. The atmosphere, stench, along with moaning and crying made it all terrible. After leaving the camp, the Germans surrendered in the first week of May [Annotator's Note: May 1945]. Things improved as the men ended up in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia and they were looking forward to going home. News came that they would have to start training for the invasion of Japan. New training began. They were put aboard ships for return home prior to going to Japan. While on furlough, the atomic bombs were dropped and the war ended. Segal was happy about that. He went to Camp Swift in Texas for his discharge. He had enough of the Army and was ready to get out. The division eventually went to Korea and had a terrible time. Segal was happy his service was over.

Harvey Segal had no problem transitioning back to being a civilian. He did have a difficult time finding a preferred trade. He wasted his G.I. Bill because he could not bring himself to study. He got a job in the garment business for years and then went into business for himself. He bought a delicatessen. He bought another restaurant in Boston. He worked at other jobs. The most memorable thing about World War 2 for Segal was entering the concentration camp. It was called Leipzig-Schönefeld. [Annotator's Note: The camp was a sub-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp.] Segal went into the service because everyone else was joining the military. It made a man out of him. The military made him see the true meaning of life and death. He was glad to have served and proud that he did. World War 2 was a defining war that pulled the country together like it has never been before or after. It seems divided today. The National WWII Museum is a wonderful institution to keep the stories of that war alive. It is important that the next generation be educated about how we were attacked and then survived. We are the greatest country in the world. The protests against the country should be in a way not to insult the flag or the young people who have given up their lives for the flag and the country. Free speech is good but some people are doing it the wrong way.