J.M. "Jimmy" Fried, Jr. was born in December 1919 and grew up in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He had one older brother and one older sister. His father was an electrical contractor who had earned one of the first electrical engineering degrees awarded by Cornell University [Annotator's Note: in Ithaca, New York]. He also owned a small gift shop in which Fried worked on the weekends and during the summer. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945], his family had a hard time. His father had a few debts but refused to have them canceled. He was able to eventually work off the debts. After graduating high school, Fried began taking classes at Ole Miss [Annotator's Note: the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi]. During his sophomore year, he enrolled in the school's ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] program. Fried was in his senior year at Ole Miss when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] on 7 December 1941. He was sitting on the steps to the cafeteria building listening to the radio when he heard the announcement. Fried knew that he would be called to service. At the time, he only had three years of ROTC training and was a year short to receive a commission. He and the other students in his position were instructed to return to school for another year to complete their training. In January 1944 [Annotator's Note: actually 1943], Fried was inducted into the Army at Camp Shelby, Mississippi [Annotator's Note: near Hattiesburg, Mississippi] as a corporal. He was then sent to Fort Benning [Annotator's Note: Fort Benning, Georgia] for three months of officer candidate school which he completed around April 1943. After being commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Fried was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland [Annotator's Note: Fort George G. Meade in in Anne Arundel County, Maryland] as an instructor. He was promoted to first lieutenant. He spent the next 16 months at Fort Meade training and preparing soldiers for overseas deployment. In December 1944, it was his turn.

On 25 December 1944, Christmas Day, J.M. "Jimmy" Fried, Jr., boarded the vessel that would take him to the European Theater. The ship took three weeks to cross the Atlantic [Annotator's Note: Atlantic Ocean] and arrived in Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France], in mid-January 1945. Immediately, Fried and the other replacements were loaded onto box cars for a freezing, three day trip to the front lines. At the front, Fried was assigned to a rifle company in the 28th Infantry Division as a platoon leader. He was shocked to learn that except for one sergeant his entire platoon had been decimated 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]. He received 40 new replacements, who had just arrived in theater with him. Still, the sergeant had been through a considerable amount of combat and was a veteran infantryman. He helped Fried lead the platoon. After a couple weeks getting acquainted with his platoon, Fried and his men entered combat in the Vosges Mountains near Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France]. Fried's first combat action was to capture a German bunker at the base of the mountains to open a path for another company that was stranded higher up the slope. With the help of his sergeant, Fried was able to lead his men in the successful completion of their objective. Over the course of the next several weeks Fried and his men took part in a handful of combat actions as they advanced toward Germany. When they reached the Rhone Canal on the French side of the Rhine River Fried and his platoon were stopped while they prepared to cross the canal. The area they were in was flat and open with no cover for the men. While moving from one location to another, Fried was hit in the face by a German bullet which penetrated his left cheek, broke his jaw, and exited through the back of his neck. Although severe, it was several minutes before Fried even knew where he had been hit. He was evacuated to a hospital in England where he had surgery and spent several months recovering. Shortly after the war in Europe ended, Fried returned to his platoon and spent several weeks on occupation duty. Fried and the rest of the 28th Infantry Division returned to the United States to Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: near Hattiesburg, Mississippi] to begin training for redeployment to the Pacific Theater. Right before the last week of training, the United States dropped the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] on Japan and World War 2 concluded shortly thereafter. After the war, Fried remained on active duty. He was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division until January 1946 when he was separated from the service.

J.M. "Jimmy" Fried, Jr. attended officer training school at Fort Benning [Annotator's Note: Fort Benning, Georgia]. The training was tough. He was studying in the classroom or outside doing physical training. The physical part was the most difficult for him, but he was able to pass and receive his commission. He was then sent to Fort Meade [Annotator's Note: Fort George G. Meade in in Anne Arundel County, Maryland] as an instructor for the last portion of field training before the troops were sent overseas. Fried had no great desire to go overseas, so he was happy being an instructor and preparing men. He felt lucky to be in the position for a long time. When he received orders to go overseas, he was shipped out of New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. He boarded the ship on Christmas Eve [Annotator's Note: 24 December 1944] and sailed on Christmas Day. The ship as small and filthy. It was run by an English crew who treated the officers very well and the enlisted men poorly. They had a couple of u-boat [Annotator's Note: German submarine] scares and would often have to drill. He was told to tell the troops that seasickness is all in your mind, however, Fried became seasick during his journey across the Atlantic [Annotator's Note: Atlantic Ocean]. His ship landed in Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France]. Fried felt a great responsibility to those who were under his command.

In France, J.M. "Jimmy" Fried, Jr. entered his first combat action [Annotator's Note: with the 28th Infantry Division]. They were to capture a German bunker at the base of the mountains to open a path for another company that was stranded higher up the slope. With the help of his sergeant, Fried was able to lead his men in the successful completion of their objective. During this time, Fried felt responsible to make sure his men were comfortable and well protected under the circumstances. He made sure they were organized and working together to obtain their objectives of capturing the Germans. Fried thinks he never shot his rifle because he was too focused on making sure his men were doing their jobs. When they began their attack on the foot of the mountains [Annotator's Note: Vosges Mountains near Paris, France], he was worried that the Germans were well fortified, but he realized very soon that they were not as well protected as he thought. After the Germans were captured out of the bunker, Fried had very little communication with them. Over the course of the next several weeks Fried and his men took part in a handful of combat actions as they advanced toward Germany. They marched to a small river and saw that the Germans were entrenched on the other side. Fried received orders to cross the river and capture the Germans. As they waited for boats to arrive, they lounged around the banks. Soon, Fried heard over the radio that the trucks bringing their boats was blown up by a mine. His orders were cancelled. Fried feels very lucky. He also cannot recall if he received any antisemitism during his service in the war. Fried was aware of what was going on with the European Jews and it reinforced his reason for fighting in World War 2. Fried never saw a concentration camp while he was in Europe, even during his occupation duty. He also thought that the Army equipped him and his men well throughout their tour in Europe.

J.M. "Jimmy" Fried, Jr. was in a hospital recovering from wounds when he learned about the end of war in Europe. He was relieved to hear the news. Fried received excellent treatment in the hospital. The troops in the Pacific had it much worse than the troops in Europe. After he returned to the United States, he discovered that he would be redeployed to fight in the Pacific. He was not pleased to be redeployed but he knew it was the right thing to do because America was fighting a war for the right reasons. Fried was on a weekend leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] visiting his aunt in Baton Rouge [Annotator's Note: Baton Rouge, Louisiana] when he found out that America dropped an atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] on Japan. He did not know what an atomic bomb was, but he knew it was good. He was at Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: near Hattiesburg, Mississippi] when World War 2 ended. After the war, Fried remained on active duty. He was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division and spent four months training new recruits until January 1946 when he was separated from active duty with the rank of captain. At the time of his separation, he was asked to stay on active duty, but he was ready to get out. He did sign up for the reserves and spent five years on reserve duty, resigning his commission as a captain in 1951.

J.M. "Jimmy" Fried, Jr.'s most memorable experience was the first battle he participated in. He was given orders to capture Germans and he knew he would receive resistance. After leaving active duty, Fried took advantage of his G.I. Bill benefits and completed his master's degree in Business Administration at Ole Miss [Annotator's Note: the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi]. While Fried was overseas, his mother passed away, and he could not get home for the funeral. His brother and brother-in-law were in the Navy fighting in the Pacific. His brother-in-law was the only one to get home for the funeral. Fried fought in the war because it was the law and never gave it any other consideration. He probably would not have served if it were not required of him, but he really did not give it much thought. Fried learned a great deal from his war experiences. He learned how to be a better leader and how to associate with people. Fried believes that its essential to have institution like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to continue to teach to future generations. He also believes that it is very important to remember the Holocaust.