James Nannini was born in Chicago, Illinois in July 1923. His father and mother were both Italian immigrants who left Italy because they were starving. His father was worked for an international factory. He did not make a lot of money, but it was enough to get by for his family. They struggled along like everyone else. Nannini grew up with one older brother. He lived in an apartment that had a coal stove, and during the winter it was always freezing. His dad lit the hot water heater only on Saturdays, so his family could take a bath. Nannini was listening to the Chicago Bears games on the radio and when he heard an announcement that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He wondered where Pearl Harbor was. [Annotator's Note: A whistle noise in the background interrupts interview at 0:06:30.000.] Nannini was drafted into the Army and sent to Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas. It was an infantry replacement center. He scored well on tests, so he was chosen to go to Army Specialized Training Program [Annotator's Note: generally referred to just by the initials ASTP; a program designed to educate massive numbers of soldiers in technical fields such as engineering and foreign languages and to commission those individuals at a fairly rapid pace in order to fill the need for skilled junior officers]. Nannini was excited about the possibility of receiving a commission, but only a couple weeks later, he found out that he was staying in the infantry because they needed strong, physically capable men. For 18 weeks he was trained as a rifle man. He learned to fire mortars and machine guns. After he completed his course, he received a ten day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], and then reported at Fort Meade, Maryland [Annotator's Note: Fort George Meade, Maryland] to be shipped overseas in April 1944. He was not assigned to a specific unit at this point. He continued training overseas. All the troops knew something big was about to happen.

James Nannini went overseas in a large convoy. It was scary to him because he had never been on a boat before. He was put at the bottom of the ship. It was overcrowded with men. There was as a point during the voyage that they dropped depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum] because they heard a submarine was nearby. It was not a pleasant trip. They landed in Glasgow, Scotland. Then he took a train to Edinburgh [Annotator's Note: Edinburgh, Scotland] and then to Yeovil, England for a few weeks. He was never permitted to leave the base. He ran an obstacle course and hiked every day. Part of the obstacle course was to go down a rope from a makeshift ship and land into a smaller boat. On 5 June 1944, Nannini was taken to Southampton, England. There he saw the Army loading mass amounts of equipment on the ships. There was a constant roar because of the planes flying above him. Nannini fell asleep on the curb but was soon awakened to board the ship that would take him to Utah Beach, Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. As his ship neared the coast, he was told to go over the side of the ship into a Higgins boat [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP]. The water was very choppy, and the driver of the Higgins boat had a hard time steadying it. Many of the men's legs were smashed between the Higgins boat and the ship as they were trying to transfer over. He could see the USS Texas (BB-35) shelling the coast and brightening the sky. He arrived on Utah Beach early afternoon on 6 June 1944 and saw his first dead American floating in the water. He was assigned as a replacement for the 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division] on the beach. The Germans were well fortified. He made it on the beach unscathed. During his first night on Normandy, he was positioned near some hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation], and the Germans shot flares into the sky.

James Nannini participated in the Normandy Invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. When he exited the landing craft [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP], he followed the person in front of him and began shooting at any German he saw. He does not know how he did not get hit. The whole invasion was organized confusion. The officers had an idea of what to do, but the troops were not briefed and did not know what was going on. His clothing was gas protected, so they were very warm, un-breathable, and smelled horrible. Nannini fought through Normandy and into the hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation]. He dug foxholes to try to hide himself from the enemy, which was a difficult task during the night. He did not know what to do about the fresh dirt. He was worried that they enemy would see the pile of dirt and know where he was. The Germans were good soldiers with good equipment and weapons. They were also well prepared. He thinks the German soldier was afraid of the American soldier as much as the American soldier was afraid of the German soldier. On the morning of 21 June 1944, Nannini was wounded in the leg and rear end on the outskirts of Cherbourg [Annotator's Note: during the Battle of Cherbourg, 6 to 30 June 1944; Cherbourg, France] by a mortar shell. He was put in a horse drawn carriage and taken to the battalion aid station. The station was getting shelled. He was evacuated by a jeep and arrived at a field hospital on the beach late at night. They performed surgery on his leg, and he was air lifted on a C-47 [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo aircraft] to a hospital in Oxford, England for additional surgery. He spent three months there. In late November 1944, he returned to his outfit [Annotator’s Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division]. Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] promised turkey for Thanksgiving, and the troops received turkey sandwiches. After four days, he returned to the hospital. On 3 January 1945, he returned to his outfit again and stayed through VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945].

When James Nannini was a BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle] gunner, he shot a German off a motorcycle. As he ran up to the German, he saw that he was crying and hurt. Nannini helped him up and got him to an aid station. Nannini remarked that they treated the Germans well when they were prisoners of war. The prisoners always had enough clothes and shoes. For most of the war, Nannini did not see his enemy directly. He would just fire in the direction where he thought they were located. Nannini did not have much interaction with the French civilians except when he asked a farmer for some water. He felt horrible for the local people because they were forced to evacuate their homes with their families, bringing only what they could load on a wagon. His regiment [Annotator's Note: Naninni was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division] always had enough food and supplies. He was never without anything. While his regiment was in the hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation] on the outskirt of Cherbourg [Annotator's Note: during the Battle of Cherbourg, 6 to 30 June 1944; Cherbourg, France], they were met with constant resistance. He was always afraid, but he did what he could to protect himself. Nannini was wounded while his regiment was trying to push into Cherbourg. It was early in the morning, the Germans brought in tanks, and then all hell broke loose. Mortars and shells began to fire. A mortar hit Nannini and killed the soldier behind him. A medic happened to be close by, so he yelled for him. After the medic examined him, he bandaged his leg and prepared him to transfer to the aid station. Nannini thinks he is the luckiest guy in the world because everything worked out for him.

James Nannini says it was freezing in Europe. They never went inside and had to endure the frigid weather. [Annotator's Note: There is a video break at 0:54:36.000.] Sometimes there was collateral damage because the troops had a job. He damaged a town that they thought had soldiers. They found out it did not after they shelled it. When Nannini was in a hospital in England recovering from a leg injury, he was given sulfa [Annotator's Note: group of synthetic drugs used to treat bacterial infections] every day to keep his wound from getting infected. He did not know he was allergic to sulfur. He would get a fever and chills after taking it, but he believes it saved him. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer shares a personal story from 0:59:50.000 to 1:00:40.000.] Nannini received adequate care throughout his hospital experience. While he was in England, he reunited with a friend from home who came to visit him. The friend was a quartermaster of the Air Corps. He brought Nannini a variety of supplies and food. They met up again at a USO [Annotator's Note: United Services Organization] event not long after. Nannini met up with another guy in England from his military training. After the war, he attended reunions and kept up with some of his friends from the war.

After healing in an English hospital for several months, James Nannini returned to his outfit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division] which was in the Hurtgen Forest [Annotator's Note: Battle of Hürtgen Forest, 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945, North Rhine-Westphalia State, Germany]. It took him about a week to travel from England to his outfit. He was initially put on a boat from England to France, and then rode in a truck until he reached his regiment. [Annotator's Note: There is a video break at 1:08:19.000.] As soon as he returned, his superior officer looked at his leg and told him to go back to the hospital because he was not healed. He stayed in a hospital in Fontainebleau, France for additional month to receive more treatment and returned to his outfit again. The Hurtgen Forest was horrible. The weather was bad, and mud came up to his knees. On his return to the hospital, he had to help push the ambulance out of the mud because it got stuck. The Germans would shell the Americans, which would cause bursts and knock the trees over, killing many of the troops. It was difficult to get replacements and supplies. Everything about it was depressing. He was assigned as a scout and then a BAR gunner [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle]. He did not like being a scout because he was behind enemy lines and could be killed easily. When he was a BAR gunner, he carried his gun and ammunition for months. Nannini did not want to be promoted to a position where he had to order soldiers because he did not want the burden of guilt if someone was killed for his decisions. On a reconnaissance patrol, Nannini got pinned down by one of his own machine guns because they did not know they were on patrol. One time they were taking a hill using all the fire power they had. The commanding officer sent a squad up the hill for patrol. They never returned, so Nannini and other went up there and found them killed. While they attempted to take the hill again, some of his comrades were killed and some were captured. One of his friends who was captured was released by the Germans a few days later because they ran out of supplies. His friend was able to reunite with his outfit. Nannini and his outfit eventually were able to conquer the hill after much fighting.

After being evacuated by an ambulance from the Hurtgen Forest [Annotator's Note: Battle of Hürtgen Forest, 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945, North Rhine-Westphalia State, Germany], James Nannini was sent to a hospital in Fontainebleau, France. He was given therapy treatment and a hot bath. Many of the soldiers that fought in D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] were either killed or injured by the end of the war. During his combat experience he mostly fought against the regular German army, but every now and then ran into a SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization] unit. Nannini and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division] was ordered to check a forest. He came upon a couple of young German soldiers sitting next to a machine gun. Nannini was able to sneak up on them and make them surrender their weapon. As they captured German towns, they could live in the homes. Nannini said they would order the families to stay in one room, and the soldiers would take the rest of the bedroom. One time, he took an older couple's home, but allowed them to stay in their bed. He slept on the floor. Many of these houses were beautiful and clean, but they never took off their dirty boots in case they had to quickly leave. When he arrived in Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany], it was bombed to smithereens. His regiment also shelled Prum [ Annotator's Note: Prüm, Germany] which decimated the town. As they entered a town, they were ordered to search every house. Nannini would often just throw a hand grenade in the house to secure it. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer shares a story at 1:37:18.000.]

Towards the end of World War 2, James Nannini was located at an outpost near Innsbruck [Annotator's Note: Innsbruck, Austria] with a new replacement, named Tony. They knew the war is over, but they heard a lot of fighting going on. Tony began to cry for his mother. The next day, his outfit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division] was pulled out. Nannini witnessed some of the concentration camps at the end of the war. He cannot believe people would do that to other people. Seeing the prisoners of the concentration camps reinforced why he was fighting in the war. Nannini is displeased with the amount of fighting that the United States is still involved in and when he hears of a soldier that is killed, he is devastated. After the war, he had occupation duty for a short time. Nannini returned to the United States in July 1945 for a furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] before being scheduled to invade Japan. He was going to go on a blind date with his future wife, but accidentally got drunk after celebrating the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] drop on Japan by the United States. He fell asleep and did not meet her. He called her up a couple of days later and told her what happened. They began dating and married in 1947.

[Annotator’s Note: This video clip begins with James Nannini talking about a non-related topic.] Nannini returned to the United States after the conclusion of war in Europe, but his regiment [Annotator’s Note: Naninni was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division] was slated to take part in the invasion of Japan. He was on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] when 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]. He returned to base on 18 August 1945 and began scout training. He was able to receive a furlough and returned home. He went back to his old job and told his boss he wanted to come back to work as soon as he is discharged. Nannini bought new clothes and just waited until he could be discharged. He was discharged in early November 1945 as a PFC [Annotator's Note: private first class]. He took advantage of the G.I. bill and attended night school for accounting while he worked for a road construction company. After the company went out of business, Nannini went to work for a friend who owned a supply company. Nannini felt like he never suffered from post traumatic stress disorder because he forgot many of the memories of the war.

James Nannini fought in World War 2 because he was drafted, but he would have gone in anyway because many of his friends were joining at the time. It was his duty as an American to fight for the country. He believes that the Americans on the home front did not realize how bad war was. The English people lived through war. He met a girl in England. He would bring her family fruit because they could never get it. However, in the United States it was very easy to get a variety of produce. His brother did not serve in the military because he was too old. His brother would vacation in Michigan while Nannini was serving in the war. Nannini believes the war was necessary but today there is still a problem. He thinks it is sad that there is so much crime in his town. Nannini believes that people should try to get along and not fight. God did not want his people to be embroiled all the time. Even neighbors do not get along anymore. There are so many problems in the world, and Nannini would love to see it stop. His most vivid memory of World War 2 was when he was on the English Channel and saw so many ships and aircraft on D-Day [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France landings 6 June 1944]. He was surprised by the enormity of the war. He believes that it is significant to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He believes we that we are free here in America and we should be proud to be Americans. He thinks that the schools need to teach more about the war.