Henry Feldman was born in 1925 and raised in Detroit. He had four siblings. His father was a tailor, and his brother also contributed to the family. When the war broke out, Feldman still had two years of school remaining, but decided to go to Texarkana, Texas to join the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC. He liked the food and pay he received. The CCC was President Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt] incentive to get young men to work hard while they lived in barracks and were given Army food. The work involved ways to improve the environment, and was run by an Army officer. He did six months at the CCC and then the war broke out. The camps closed and he went home to work. He was drafted at the end of April 1943, when he turned 18. Three months later he was inducted into the Army.

Henry Feldman went to Fort Custer [Annotator's Note: near Battle Creek, Michigan] for indoctrination. He did his basic training in Mineral Wells [Annotator's Note: at Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas]. After basic training, he had a 30 day leave at home. He then went to Fort Meade, Maryland and Camp Shanks, New York. He was sent to Weehawken, New Jersey in January 1944 where he boarded a French liner. The voyage was in the middle of winter. The ship was unescorted for its passage to Europe. Many were sick from the rough seas. Eating was impossible. Finally they reached Scotland. They transferred down to a town on the English Channel for training. Initially unattached, Feldman eventually joined the 8th Division [Annotator's Note: Feldman was assigned to Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] in Northern Ireland. En route, Feldman's Native American friend, Big Eagle, caused quite a stir by creating an incident. After D-Day [Annotator's Note: the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], his outfit was transported on a Liberty Ship to Omaha Beach [Annotator’s Note: one of the five Normandy invasion beaches]. Arriving at the beach, Feldman saw DUKWs [Annotator's Note: amphibious trucks] retrieving soldiers from the sea, even though it was 20 days after the commencement of the invasion. It was very disturbing but the job had to be done. That night, Feldman entered France.

Henry Feldman and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] moved inland after landing on Omaha Beach. His captain and a private were the first he saw to be killed. Battles were fought across France on the way to Paris. The celebration in Paris resulted in masses of citizens on the streets. Feldman's unit was under General Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] who gave a salty speech to his men. He was a rough, tough general who admonished his troops not to die for their country but make the other SOBs die for theirs. From Paris, the outfit went on through France to Luxembourg. It was there that Feldman saw the German buzz bombs and rockets [Annotator's Note: German V1 pulse jet cruise missle and V2 ballistic missile] streaking toward London. It was frightening when they ran out of fuel and dropped on those unfortunates below. Huge armadas of Allied bombers flew over during this time. The British Spitfires [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] pursued the enemy fighters like hungry bees.

After fighting through France and Luxembourg, Henry Feldman crossed the Rhine River on pontoon bridges at Cologne, Germany. It was winter and the troops were moved to the Hürtgen Forest [Annotator's Note: Feldman was a member of Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division]. It was cold and the rations were very limited in variety. The cheese was particularly bad and the men often discarded the cans containing it. Personal cleaning and issue of new uniforms were both reduced to once a month. Even at that, the process was rapid and then back to the war they went. Feldman spent three days in his trench eating only frozen d-bars which was hard chocolate. No other chow was brought to them. The chocolate was so hard that it broke his teeth. After the Hürtgen, the troops proceeded into further into Germany. Through the remainder of the war, the most memorable event was the liberation of a concentration camp [Annotator's Note: Wobbelin concentration camp]. The German guards escaped quickly leaving bodies of the dead unburied. There were rows of corpses left exposed. The living inmates had been given less than adequate protection from the weather by their captors. After leaving the camp, the war ended with the regiment at a resort town in Germany. Feldman was given the job of guarding a rotten bunch of SS troops. One of the SS men asked Feldman to kill him, but he refused. Feldman was concerned that he would get into trouble for executing the German.

After fighting through France, Luxembourg, and Germany [Annotator's Note: as a member of Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division], Henry Feldman voyaged home out of Paris, France. After landing in Boston, the veterans were treated to all the good food they had missed while in combat. Moving on to a camp in Wisconsin, he was given a 30 day leave to return home. Returning to duty, he was sent to a camp outside of Saint Louis. The regiment was refitted for the invasion of Japan. Feldman manned a halftrack mounting a 105mm cannon. The troops were told that every person with any type of weapon would be waiting for them on the beach in Japan. He felt his chance of survival was slim. After the atomic bombs were dropped, the camp was disbanded and the men went home.

Henry Feldman was drafted shortly after he turned 18 years of age [Annotator's Note: in April 1943]. On the train to boot camp, he saw an old friend and his high school teacher, both of whom had also been drafted along with Feldman. The teacher was just under 38 years old and he was drafted. Feldman saw a father and son who had both been drafted while he was in Texas [Annotator's Note: Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas]. The training was rigorous and made worse by the Texas sun. Feldman was fit because of his time in the CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps]. He could take the rigors better than the heavier fellows. In boot camp, Feldman was being trained as a replacement infantry rifleman. He went immediately to Scotland and England after basic training. Before deploying overseas, it was good to be on leave and return home. After the war, he could not get used to children being around him. When he voyaged to Europe, his ship was unescorted. Food was impossible to keep down because the sea was so rough. Before going overseas, Feldman never thought he would make it back. He experienced a deadly situation in Germany where nine out of a group of ten soldiers from his company [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] were killed. They died in a house next door hit by an enemy shell. German civilians had to remove the dead the next day. It was the worst that happened to Feldman. That was war.

Henry Feldman knew nothing about the concentration camps before his deployment. He learned of them only when his outfit [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] liberated a concentration camp in Germany [Annotator's Note: near Ludwigslust, the 121st Infantry Regiment discovered and liberated the Wobbelin concentration camp on 2 May 1945]. It was distressing. He could not feel sorry for the Germans after he saw the condition of the inmates and the dead. The infantrymen did not know what was going on in the camps. The inmates did not realize that they were saved with the Americans arrival. The local townspeople were forced to bury the dead there. Feldman only spent an hour or so in the camp before being ordered forward. The Germans were cruel to the people in their custody.

Prior to entry into France, Henry Feldman was assigned to Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division as an infantryman responsible for supplying the powder charges for loading the 105mm howitzer. Trucks pulled the guns. German 88mm guns [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] fired on the Americans. The enemy weapon was much feared. Feldman had a close call with an enemy round being deflected before it injured him. In France, Feldman was fired at by a German sniper. The round missed, and the sniper was killed. Although contact with locals was limited while in England, the Americans fought the Civil War everyday amongst themselves. The 8th Division was a Georgia National Guard unit and they hated Northerners, and especially New Yorkers. It was strange. Feldman was from Detroit and was left alone. Feldman never experienced anti-Semitism in the Army. He felt it more at school and in the Detroit Police Department [Annotator's Note: Feldman worked as a police officer in Detroit after the war]. The prejudice even affected his service rating on the Detroit force.

On his second day in France, Henry Feldman saw his captain and a private killed in action. He was nearby when it happened. He had previously dug a slit trench for protection, but the rain filled the bottom with mud. That showed him what to expect in the future. He felt he would never make it home. After returning from the war in Europe, the division [Annotator's Note: Feldman was a member of Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] was being prepared to invade Japan. President Truman [Annotator's Note: President Harry S. Truman] made the right decision to drop the atomic bombs and end the war. That saved thousands of Americans from the Japanese who were waiting to fight them on the beaches.

Henry Feldman had no major problems returning home after the war. He soon decided to return to school since he left prior to his high school graduation. The Army provided 20 dollars a week for 20 weeks and would pay for his education. Feldman had to support his family so he could not attend college. He attained his high school diploma but could not find a decent job because of anti-Semitism. He applied for jobs but never heard back from prospective employers. He went into the Navy Reserves for six years. He was not called to active duty [Annotator's Note: during the Korean War] likely because he was married and had a child. He served as a general seaman. He never went to sea staying on coastal duty during that service. While working as a bartender after receiving his diploma, it was suggested that he apply for the Detroit Police Department. He did and was accepted. The benefits were good and he stayed with the department for 25 years. Feldman never used the G.I. Bill because he did not need the funds for education or medical benefits. He joined the Detroit police force on 5 July 1949 and retired on the same day in 1975.

Henry Feldman reached France during the hedgerow fighting [Annotator's Note: he landed in Normandy on 4 July 1944]. His brother was in the Army Air Forces on a C-47 [Annotator’s Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft]. His plane dropped gliders into the hedgerow country. When a glider hit a hedgerow, everyone in the front of the glider was either killed or wounded. Paratroopers were dropped into flooded areas and drown. Feldman witnessed the wreckage of those incidents. The heavy foliage was like a barrier to the artillery. Visual spotting was nearly impossible. Feldman's Cannon Company [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] used their 105mm cannons as indirect fire. It was easy to get lost in the dense shrubbery. Once when Feldman fired the gun, he managed to get a direct hit on an enemy observation position in a building. Quite a few German soldiers were killed as a consequence. When someone dropped after being hit, no one bothered to go over to check if the enemy was dead or wounded. After the observation position exploded, the German fire on the Americans ceased. Feldman's shot had saved American lives.

Henry Feldman and the 8th Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: Feldman was a member of Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] entered the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest without knowing how bad it had been. They did know that it was extremely cold. The enlisted men did not have access to the intelligence that officers had. The Germans had a lot of artillery. Incoming rounds hit trees and spread shrapnel. The Americans were protected by trenches covered by logs except for the entrance point. An artillery round felled a tree across the entrance of Feldman's trench and prevented them from exiting. They chose to sleep until noon that day. [Annotator's Note: Feldman laughs.] Casualties were heavy. The company's anti-tank guns protected them from the heavy German Tiger tanks [Annotator's Note: German Mark VI heavy tank, also known as the Tiger]. German aircraft strafed the American forces in the forest. Feldman witnessed an American P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] hit an American bomber amidships. Both went down. After the Hürtgen, the 8th Division advanced into Germany in early 1945. It was extremely cold even with the issued clothing for winter weather. Feldman did not remove his boots for the whole month. He was fortunate that his feet never went bad.

Henry Feldman had no problems with his feet during the cold and harsh winter [Annotator's Note: winter of 1944 to 1945]. The men at Bastogne must have had much wetter weather. Feldman and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division] did not have a role in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or Ardennes Counter-Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. At the beginning of the New Year in 1944, Feldman was preparing to deploy overseas. The following year at New Year, his outfit was in the Hürtgen Forest. In February 1945, the regiment crossed the Roer River. Crossing on pontoon bridges, the ride across was rough. There was a danger of ending up in the river, but the engineers put up a good bridge. German civilians usually fled the oncoming Americans. Feldman never encountered young Germans fighting his unit. The Rhine River was also crossed on a pontoon bridge. There was little symbolism associated with the event. By then, Feldman was fatalistic about making it home. Seeing the Nazi concentration camp [Annotator's Note: Feldman's regiment had helped liberate the Wobbelin concentration camp] with the dead and dying inmates reinforced why the Americans were fighting. The camp was all a revelation to Feldman when he first encountered the Nazi brutality. The Germans surrendered while Feldman was guarding SS troops who had surrendered. Those prisoners were miserable. One even asked Feldman to shoot him. It was a major relief to hear the war with Germany was over. Feldman was sent back to the United States shortly afterward. He had a great meal outside of Boston after he arrived stateside. The regiment was slated to transfer to the invasion forces against the Japanese home islands. The 121st Regiment was training with halftracks in preparation for the assault. The atomic bombs ended the war. It was fitting since the Japanese started the war and treated their prisoners of war cruelly. Feldman was pleased that the bombs brought the war to an end. He was glad the fighting was all over. Truman [Annotator's Note: President Harry S. Truman] was his hero since he ordered the atomic bombs dropped. It saved the lives of many Americans and Japanese as a result of the more costly invasion casualties not being required. Feldman was discharged from the Army near Saint Louis on 10 December 1945. The point system defined the sequence of discharging the veterans. Feldman was a bit disoriented after his discharge but quickly went back to school. It was his best decision because he obtained a job with the Detroit Police Department as a result. He experienced anti-Semitism prior to that while applying for jobs. He retired from the police force after 25 years only having been shot at a few times. [Annotator's Note: Feldman chuckles.] Domestic violence concerning a policeman's wife was one of his worse episodes. The wife pointed a gun at Feldman but did not fire at him. One of his worst memories involved having to clean up after a suicide. A man parked his car on a rail track and Feldman had to clean up afterward. Feldman also felt bad when people called him names.

Henry Feldman benefitted from his time in the Army. He had difficulty adjusting to having family and especially children around him after his discharge. He had the opportunity to reenlist as a second lieutenant but turned it down. The worst thing he saw during the war was the concentration camp that his regiment liberated [Annotator's Note: Feldman's 121st Infantry Regiment helped liberate the Wobbelin concentration camp]. The rows of bodies and the emaciated inmates were unforgettable. Feldman can never forgive the Germans for the deeds they perpetrated in the camp. Being cold and lacking food were just personal hardships he had to endure as a soldier. That was nothing like what the inmates endured. Feldman fought in the war so that his younger brother did not have to do so. His older brother also fought in the war in the US Army Air Forces. It would have been rough on Feldman's parents if all three boys went to war. The loss of the Sullivan brothers was terrible [Annotator's Note: the five Sullivan brothers were lost at sea when their ship, the USS Juneau (CL-52), was sunk in the Pacific]. Feldman fought to prevent the Japanese and the Germans from taking over the country. Feldman received packages from home which were very beneficial to him as an infantryman. His brother had better living and eating conditions so those packages were not sent to him. World War 2 made Feldman an optimist. He never worries about what will happen to him. Despite 25 years on the police force [Annotator's Note: Feldman spent 25 years with the Detroit Police Department] and multiple critical surgeries, he figures he can handle anything that comes along. Feldman was glad he had the opportunity to serve and not shame his family by not serving. He did his bit and was glad to come home alive. Half the people of the United States do not realize how they were saved by a few young men. People today are not even aware of the boys fighting overseas. Feldman lost relatives back in the Ukraine who died in the war. He might have been killed if his parents had not emigrated from there to the United States. Institutions like The National WWII Museum are important to educate people on how to avoid war. Nevertheless, wars have still continued. The stories have to be told before it is too late.