Joseph Simpson was born in West Texas near Anson in 1921. He was delivered by a midwife. His father was a sharecropper who did not believe in school, only in hard work. Simpson did not graduate from high school until he was 21 years old. He considers Fort Worth to be his hometown since he has lived there longer than anywhere else. He always lived there after he left the service. There were 11 children in the family - nine boys and two girls. Simpson was the seventh of the nine boys. His sisters were both older than him. Growing up in the Depression was difficult since Simpson was the son of a sharecropper. The children did not have the luxury of paying attention to the hot sun. Work had to get done. Simpson picked and chopped cotton. They baled hay, planted maize, and stripped sugar cane to make syrup. There was a lot of work in the gardens but occasionally there would be a hog butchering. Neighbors would share the meat from the hog. That was the way meat was obtained by neighboring families. It was a rough time with a scarcity of jobs. The children still found recreational activities. When their dad went into town, they would remove the top from the buggy and push it down the hill. When their father found out about this, the fun came to an end. The youngsters also had an old 500 gallon water tank that they used for fun. Getting inside, they children pushed it down the hill and tumbled around in it. Sometimes they got hurt but it was something to do. When their dad was gone, the boys would ride the calves. Simpson's mom was a Christian lady who helped with the field work and cooked dinner for the working family near the crops. When the boys finished eating, they would go back to picking cotton. His mom was a great lady. Simpson graduated from Bowie High School in Bowie, Texas when he was 21 years old. Simpson was at Grand Prairie working the night shift when he heard about Pearl Harbor. He worked for North American Aviation building the AT-6 trainer aircraft. The men in the shift realized that they would have to work harder. Overtime started and the plant expanded to build the B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] bombers which were the work horse of the Air Force in early World War 2. Plenty overtime had to be worked to get the airplanes out for delivery. Being from Montague County, a small county in North Texas, Simpson knew that he would be called up eventually to satisfy the quota requirements [Annotator's Note: for the draft] from that area. He had three deferments from the company and was assured by North American that he would not have to go into the service. Simpson got married and the couple had a son, but eventually he got a draft notice in June 1944. The company could no longer protect him from the quota set up for the country. Simpson remembered about this time hearing about the Normandy D-Day invasion. He read about it being so bloody that the draft had to call up more men to cover the slaughter. After Simpson received his draft notice through the company, he was inducted into the Army and had to leave his job and family.

After he was inducted into the Army, Joseph Simpson first went to Camp Wolters in Mineral Well, Texas for about three weeks [Annotator's Note: Simpson was inducted in June 1944]. Afterward, he was sent to Camp Robertson near Little Rock, Arkansas for three months of basic training. Next was Fort Meade, Maryland where he was outfitted with new clothes and equipment. On 28 December 1944, Simpson boarded the Queen Mary liner for overseas deployment. During the voyage, the ship varied its course every six minutes or so in order to avoid German submarine attack. Following the voyage across the Atlantic, the ship berthed in Glasgow, Scotland. It was very cold and the snow was higher than the train when the troops transited to England. While in England, Simpson heard several German buzz bombs [Annotator’s Note: German V1 rocket] fly over. He would listen and when the engine quit it was a sure sign that the bomb would be coming straight down within 100 yards. Simpson transferred to the British beach to board an LCI [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Infantry]. The LCI was used to cross the English Channel. The Channel always seemed windy and rough. Many of the troops, including Simpson, became seasick. Simpson had no issues with sickness while aboard the Queen Mary. During his Channel crossing, Simpson just hugged the boat as soon as it left port. Upon arrival in France, he did not walk off the LCI, he just fell off. Simpson and the LCI landed in La Havre, France at night and immediately went into camp. The next morning, he found out that the unit had bivouacked in a grave yard.

Joseph Simpson arrived in La Havre, France after crossing the English Channel. Those in charge decided the troops needed additional injections [Annotator's Note: no indication of the kind of injections or why they were required]. The troops were carried in trucks to a big field and the men dismounted. The soldiers had to drop their back packs and strip off their shirts. They made a column about a mile long. Approximately every 15 feet, the column of men faced a man with a needle. There must have been at least ten shots that Simpson and each of the other men received. After the injections, the troops got back into the trucks and went to a different place. He did not know the town, but it was cold on the side of the hill. It was there that he joined the 84th Infantry Division. Because of the cold, they wore as much clothes on as they could. Weapons were handed out at this time. Since Simpson looked like a big fellow, he was handed a BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle]. The BAR weighed 21 pounds not counting the bandolier with seven loaded magazines. That along with having to carry a back pack made the load very heavy. Simpson was not fond of using the BAR, but it was a good weapon. The troops stayed at the hillside location overnight. The next morning, mess was provided outside. After chow, the men mounted up in the trucks and went several miles. At that point, they heard cannons going off. For Simpson, this would be the beginning of the Battle of Bulge. For the 84th Infantry Division, the worst fighting around Bastone was faced by the 335th [Annotator's Note: 335th Infantry Regiment] but Simpson was in the 334th Infantry Regiment. Simpson and his company were eight to ten miles outside of Bastone. His unit dug in and was told that they had to hold their position. Bastone was rough combat, but he was outside that action. The snow was four foot deep in the area. One man had to remain awake in the foxhole to make sure there was no surprise German counter attack. The enemy 88s [Annotator's Note: 88mm artillery] fired on them. Artillery would hit the trees and it was like a downpour of rain with the snow coming down. Simpson's company [Annotator's Note: Simpson served in Company C, 1st Battalion, 334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division] stayed for five to six days in their position. The only food available was cold K rations. The food and the cans it came in were very cold. After a time, the company was pulled out and sent back to a town where they could have a meal, clean up, and change their clothes. It was a relief after being on the line so long. After the limited rest, the company went back to the line. The Germans initiated a counter attack and heavy weapons fire came in on Simpson's unit. After suffering casualties, some of the men sought shelter in cellars to protect themselves. American artillery came in and drove the enemy back. At that juncture, the men came out of cellars only to discover that they had lice. Seeing this, they had to strip and get new clothes again. Simpson's regiment moved up to the front behind the 335th and then relieved them after a few days. This allowed the 335th to get a rest. The two regiments then alternated back and forth on the front every few days. The 84th would advance and take new towns as they progressed. Limited incoming enemy fire would result in American mortar fire shelling the town. The enemy would then throw out white flags. Seeing the flags, the Americans knew that it was safe to enter the town.

When Joseph Simpson entered enemy towns as his unit advanced into the German home land, white flags would come out and local civilian women would thank them for taking the town. They feared the German soldiers who were raping the women and stealing their valuables. He witnessed this welcome in several towns. It was pitiful to hear what the Germans had done to their own people. The local populace included captured people like those from Poland. The Germans would abuse those captives and work them as slaves. Simpson came in direct contact with local women as he advanced through the hinterland. He found it odd that the Third Reich recognized women who had many babies, ostensibly for their leader, Adolph Hitler. Simpson kept a pin that recognized one woman's efforts in that way. His unit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division] was assigned to take care of rubber tanks and vehicles which they would keep blown up. At night, the American engineers made engine noises to make the Germans think the Americans had a big offensive build up across the Rur River. When Simpson's 334th Regiment crossed the river, they ended up in Linnich and stayed in a church. They loaded up on ammunition and food. The river was only 30 feet wide normally, but the local dam had been blown, and it was much wider and swifter. Simpson and his unit were behind a soccer field with the boats and engineers. American artillery was in place to drive the Germans back. On 23 February 1945, the day was cold and rainy. The Americans crossed over the river. Simpson's boat did not get fastened to the bank after landing and was swept away downriver about 100 yards. Only two men had gotten out of the boat before being swept away. There were seven infantrymen with two engineers. When Simpson got into the boat, all the rifles were handed to him for safe keeping. As the German machine gunners opened up, Simpson got the guns off of him and went off the back of the boat. He came up in barbed wire. As he did, a body struck him. It was one of the engineers. He tried hanging on to the wire and staying under the water as much as he could. While they were in the water they shouted for help. Medics and others came to assist them. Asked if he was hit, he replied that he had not been wounded. His field jacket had to be cut off because it was caught in the wire. The machine gun nest was subsequently wiped out. Since Simpson was cold without his jacket, he was given an overcoat from a dead German soldier. He lost track of time after he was pulled from the water. On the other side of the river, he received fresh clothes and a new BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle]. He was given three bandoliers of M1 ammunition but not any BAR ammo]. Not having additional magazines for the BAR did not bother Simpson because he felt he could get some further up the line. He was given three 60mm mortar shells and some bazooka shells to carry across the wet and muddy bridge. After crossing the river, he did not know where to go until someone told him. He started up the road. It was raining and all hell was breaking lose. He asked where the CP [Annotator's Note: command post] was located. He had to be guided because it was so dark. Lieutenant Howard was his squad leader. The lieutenant called him Tex and asked him where he had been. Simpson relayed the incidents involving his trip across the river and the losses of personnel under fire from the enemy machine gun. Letters had been sent to the families of the men missing in action. There was no letter sent home for Simpson to alert his family because they knew him only as Big Tex. They had no idea what his real name was. Simpson thanked the lieutenant. They took the shells that he had and told him where his squad was located further up ahead. He went about searching for them but he could not find them. The 88s [Annotator's Note: German 88mm artillery] were firing at the Americans but the rounds were falling long, over their positions. Hearing the 88 fire, Simpson dove into a basement and asked if anyone was in there. No one responded. An enemy round hit the building and Simpson knew he had to evacuate his cover before it crumbled in on him. He found a fellow infantryman whom he recognized and dug in with him. American artillery came up and drove off the German tanks and troops. The Americans reorganized and found that they were short on soldiers. They managed to get a couple of squads together. The troops headed out and got away from the town. It was flattened. With each small town that the Americans encountered, they would lob a mortar shell in to get the attention of those in the environs. Next, a jeep with a German speaking interpreter using a loud speaker would announce the arrival of the Americans. If there was no response, 105mm American artillery would shell the city. The white flags would come out at that point. The local population would let the incoming troops know which direction the German troops had retreated. No matter how many towns the Americans captured, it always surprised Simpson when he saw the German women come out with the white flags thanking the American troops. It always astounded Simpson how the women made them feel like liberators.

Joseph Simpson advanced with his unit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division] close to Hanover, Germany. They moved forward on trucks. The streets were lined with people shouting that they were from various places in the states. They had been caught up in Germany when the war started. Outside of town, Simpson's unit met up with enemy resistance. Exiting the trucks, they dug in for a day or two. Someone jumped into his foxhole. It startled him. It was an American pilot who wanted to go to the front to see what it was all about. After the pilot experienced a German counterattack, he realized that he had seen enough and left. Simpson acknowledged that he too would leave if he could. Hamburg was the next objective. The men dug in before reaching there. It was raining. Germans were known to be there. A patrol entered the city. Simpson was with it. The lieutenant told the men in the patrol to throw a blanket over their heads and to not remove them. The patrol traversed the city and saw Germans dug in on both sides of the streets. After reaching safety, the patrol provided intelligence to HQ [Annotator's Note: headquarters]. Reinforcements were sent to them prior to assaulting the city. The troops scattered themselves across a couple hundred yards with the 334th and 335th up front and 333rd in reserve. The advance started through Hamburg but could not find a soldier in the city. Near the river they spotted two enemy soldiers who simply surrendered. All the German soldiers in the town had evacuated through tunnels under the Rhine River and escaped. The Americans had anticipated a lot of problems but instead they took the town and lined up on the river to hold the position. The 30th ID [Annotator's Note: 30th Infantry Division] had been called up to make the Rhine crossing in gliders. It was a massacre because of the lack of experience of the glider pilots. Paratroopers were immediately sent in to aid the situation. Two days later a bridge was rebuilt by American engineers and the river was crossed by Simpson and the 84th at midnight with all the lights burning. Moving on further into Germany, they started Church Task Force. That was troops loaded on trucks that who would get off only to counter any German resistance. They would mount up and ride further on the Autobahn as soon as the resistance was abated. Resistance was cleared and the end of the highway was reached. The American troops dismounted from the trucks and were told there was a lot of resistance ahead. Tanks were called in and Simpson was put on the first tank. German 88s [Annotator's Note: 88mm artillery] fired on the advancing tanks, but they aimed at the fourth one rather than the first tank. Firing on the fourth tank was the enemy attempt to break up the column. The troops took cover as the shelling was started. The enemy fire was on the tanks at first, but subsequently fell on the troops. The Americans started to reorganize after two or three of the tanks were hit. The word came down that a bridge was nearby, and it was important to take it because it could support the weight of tanks. As they were crossing, all hell broke loose. Three 88s were firing directly on them. There were many casualties. When the 88s were spotted, a force went in and took care of them. There were captured Poles tied to the guns. The Poles were made to fire the weapons. Some of the Americans were severely wounded. It was time to get out of there. The field was deeply plowed and hard to run through, especially with the weight of the BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle] and its ammunition. Simpson finally made it to the opposite side. The men started out toward the bridge to take it. Simpson had his BAR and was assisted by four riflemen to support him. Just before dusk, Germans were spotted coming up the river. The riflemen took care of the approaching enemy soldiers. They held the bridge and the next day tanks started rolling across the bridge. [Annotator's Note: A discussion ensues about a hotel in New Orleans where Simpson stayed during his visit to The National WWII Museum.]

Joseph Simpson witnessed little resistance after his unit crossed the Rhine River. There were hardly any battles. The advance continued for the Church Task Force. The force arrived at a town that appeared to be a government town. The Americans were cautious upon approaching it. There did not appear to be much around the buildings. As Simpson sat on a patio, he was doing maintenance on his BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle] to repair a problem. He suddenly felt two bullets come close to him. He told his lieutenant about it. Simpson told Howard to get the men together because there were some problems with the village. After Simpson finished repairing his BAR, they proceeded through the village. It appeared that no one was there. They came upon an enemy soldier in a foxhole with a carbine that would not fire. The lieutenant, an old West Pointer, told Tex [Annotator's Note: Tex or Big Tex was Simpson's nickname] to fire on the enemy. Simpson did so and came down on the foe after getting the others out of the line of fire. Hearing the extent of firing, Germans started coming up out of foxholes and giving up. The only casualty was the one German soldier. Passing through the village, the troops went down the hill where the Autobahn was located. Near another village, civilians came out of their homes with guns. The Americans told them to put the weapons down since the American troops were after German troops, not civilians. The civilians were Nazis so they did not comply. An old German pulled a pistol and fired at the lieutenant but missed him. An American killed him. The civilians were again warned to drop their weapons, but they did not comply. They were true Nazis and willing to fight for their cause. The Americans told them to go back into their homes and keep under cover. The soldiers advanced further down the highway. They approached a town where many enemy soldiers were anticipated. It turned out that only seven or eight of them were there. They gave up easily. Further ahead, the American troops dug in. It was quiet the next morning. The CO [Annotator's Note: commanding officer] said gather up ammunition and other supplies for the next three days. They were going to cross the Elbe River. It was running swiftly since the dam had been blown. The decision was made not to cross the river but hold in position there. The Russians were to advance to the opposite bank of the river. It took two to three days until the Russians got there. Meanwhile, German and even an American came up to the river. The American was told to lie down and not try to cross the river until daylight. The American had been forced into the German Army but he did not want to fight. The US engineers had rigged up a motorized chain across the river. Barge loads of German prisoners were hauled over the river to avoid Russian capture. About 13,000 enemy prisoners were sent to the rear. Some of the German officers even had their wives with them. It took two days to get all of them across. The Russians were right behind them. The Russians wanted 100 German prisoners to be taken back across the Elbe. They ended up shooting them. Simpson had little use for the Russians. They would just as soon kill you as look at you. As long as the German troops had schnapps, they would not give up. When they ran out of schnapps, they would give up. The Elbe River was where Simpson was located at the end of the war on 8 May 1945.

Joseph Simpson joined the 84th Infantry Division in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge. He was in Company C, 334th Infantry Regiment. Command of the 84th fell, at times, under Patton [Annotator's Note: Lieutenant General George S. Patton], Simpson [Annotator's Note: Lieutenant General William H. Simpson]and Bradley [Annotator's Note: General Omar Bradley]. The Bronze Star was presented to him by General Simpson who lives in Dallas. The first night in combat, Simpson was dumbfounded. He wondered what he was doing there. He had to protect himself the best he could. The BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle] was handed to him and he did not want that heavy weapon. The first time he used it, it saved his life and that of his buddies. With its 20 round magazine, it was a good weapon and one he cherished. Simpson was two years older than most of his comrades. He was a farm boy with a tough upbringing who was drafted. The first time he had to take a life, it was real rough. [Annotator's Note: Simpson is noticeably affected by the recollection.] The first time was when he faced a German soldier whose carbine would not fire. The lieutenant ordered him to shoot the enemy. He did so. When his outfit reached Hanover, Germany, they came upon a barn which had housed 1,300 Polish prisoners who had been burned alive. Simpson was not with the unit when they happened upon that grisly scene. The people who lived in the town were ordered to come out and bury the dead. They were ordered to maintain those graves for the rest of their lives. Bulldozers were used to push the dead into a ditch to cover them up. The dead were burned and stuck together. The smell was awful. That was the way the war was. During the war, the family wrote to one another and kept in contact with each other. One of his brothers, Jess Edward Simpson, also served in the war and was killed in Iwo Jima. He found out after his brother died from his wife or his sister. It was difficult to hear of his sibling's death at only 30 years old. [Annotator's Note: Simpson is moved by the memory of the loss.] Another brother had attempted to join, but an arm injury prevented him from enlisting. In 1946, another brother volunteered and served 20 years in the Air Force. He went to Vietnam. Simpson never considered serving in the Army as a career. During his first period of combat, it seemed like a dream, as he was in disbelief that he was over there. All the men constantly talked about was how they could stay alive. At one point, when he had taken cover in the basement of a building, a German tank rammed the building and tried to collapse it. The shell that the enemy usually fired was an 88mm. The shell sounded like it was screaming at them when they were incoming. It was scary coming up against the German tanks. Tank warfare with the Germans only happened to him in the Battle of the Bulge. If the weather had not cleared, the fighting could still be going on. The battle at Bastone was the turning point of the Battle of the Bulge. The American bombers used the Norden bomb sites to target their objectives. The National WWII Museum has one of those sites. The German regular soldier was not enthused with fighting. The SS troops were more aggressive, particularly when they had schnapps. When they ran out of schnapps, they would give up. The troops knew there were concentration camps before they went over to the combat zones. A Polish or Jewish person would be treated brutally by the Nazi hardcore followers. While in combat, Simpson was roped into doing only one patrol. A buddy asked him to go on a last patrol on the Elbe River, but he refused. When the patrol crossed the river, they were captured. His friend's ring finger was cut off to remove his wedding ring. The other three members of the patrol were mistreated too. Some of Simpson's friends from the 84th were prisoners for over a year. When Simpson met up with the armed group of civilians in Germany, he felt they were hardcore Nazis. They would never give up.

Joseph Simpson felt like a liberator while in France and Belgium. People in Belgium today treat the American veterans as kings. In 1994, Simpson returned to Belgium and experienced the hardy welcome and affection of the people. The Germans are, for the most part, happy to have been liberated. As for the French, the people in the cities are not very demonstrative of their appreciation. Those in the towns are more so. Simpson had little affection for the French. After leaving the Elbe River, the war in Europe was over so Simpson and the 84th [Annotator's Note: 84th Infantry Division] began training in Germany for invasion of the Japanese homeland. The training was rigorous. They trained for the South Pacific in how to kill a man with their bare hands. Simpson was not in favor of fighting in the Pacific because he had heard too much about the nature of the war over there. No prisoners were taken by the enemy. He knew not to trust anyone when he was over there. Simpson served occupation duty from the end of the war in May 1945 to January 1946. During that time, units were split up as men with the most points were allowed to return home first. Simpson had just reached combat in January 1945 so his number of points were limited. The military allowed the men who had served longest or had a disability to go home first. Simpson did not have enough points to go home so he went into a Quartermaster unit. The men were asked whether they could drive a truck or not. If they said they could not, they did not get out of driving a truck. Instead, they were given a truck and told to go out and learn how to drive the vehicle. They could not get out of driving a vehicle by simply saying they did not know how to do so. [Annotator's Note: Simpson laughs at the irony.] He was in charge of the trucks. His trucks hauled bread to German prisoners, brought personnel to the Stuttgart POE [Annotator's Note: Port of Embarkation], and other activities. Simpson heard about the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the surrender of Japan. They were told that they no longer had to keep up the training. The best thing that happened was he was allowed a seven day trip to Geneva, Switzerland. It was beautiful but very cold. They were treated like kings. He returned to the United States in February 1946 and was discharged. His family was glad to see him when he returned. He felt great about it. Most troops had a big blow out for the early arrivers but by the time Simpson returned, there were few celebrations. Simpson has experienced neuropathy as a result of his frostbite from the Battle of the Bulge. It has affected his veins and sensitivity in his feet and consequently his walking.

Joseph Simpson experienced snow and rain during the Battle of the Bulge. The men who fought in Bastone told Simpson that some of it was hand to hand. Most men, Simpson included, would shoot first to avoid hand to hand combat. Men were hungry. It was hard to get food to the troops. There was not proper winter clothes to keep warm. When the clouds opened up, the Air Force came in and made their drops thus changing the battle. That was about the time Simpson arrived on the scene. For Simpson, it was a lonesome experience. There were just open fields in front of them. The German 88mm rounds would come in and hit the trees. It was frightening because people talk about death, and how white it is. That was what Simpson and his comrades would see all around them. The only color they would see besides the white snow would be the occasional American airplanes going overhead to bomb Germany.

Joseph Simpson was discharged from the service on 26 February 1946. When he was in Bremerhaven, Germany preparing to come home, he went into town. His feet started hurting. His shoes got tight so he took them off. His feet began to swell. A medic was brought over to look at him. The medic was followed by an officer who said Simpson needed to have his feet looked at. Simpson was all about going home, so he disregarded the officer's words. He wanted to go home, not to the hospital. When it was time to load up and go to the pier, Simpson was put in the front of the truck with duffle bags in front of him. When it was time for Simpson to go up the gangplank, he had no shoes on. Getting on the ship, he was told not to move for two days or he would be removed from the ship. After two days, a medic looked at him and ordered him to sick bay. The medical officer packed him in ice up to his hip. After one day, they removed the ice and covered him with hot blankets. The hot blankets were refreshed about every hour. The officer returned the third morning and pulled back the blankets and looked at Simpson's status. He made the comment that he was ripe. Four officers surrounded him and went about restraining him. The ship was tossing in a storm. During that time, they had to lance his leg. Infection had set in and about a cup of puss was collected. This occurred about the fifth day out and the next day the drainage tube was removed and the swelling in his feet was reduced. He stayed on a hospital ship. After being sent to Camp Kilmer hospital, he was reopened and the remaining infection removed. Afterwards, he was able to go to the chow line. There, he observed German prisoners of war who were being treated very well. They were even being paid for their work. Simpson was not happy seeing that. He remembered how the American prisoners were mistreated by the Germans. It was hard to take. Many of the Germans wanted to know what Simpson had seen in Germany and which cities had been bombed or destroyed. After Camp Kilmer, Simpson was sent to Tyler, Texas where he was discharged. The early discharge was due to the problem with his frostbite contracted during the Battle of the Bulge. Simpson has lingering problems with walking as a result of the cold his feet was subjected to in that bitter winter of 1944 to 1945. Simpson was discharged as a sergeant. He used the GI Bill for a limited attempt to attend TCU [Annotator's Note: Texas Christian University in Dallas, Texas]. He did not have money for college. He had a wife and family but very little money. He had to take care of them. His education is largely self taught. He trained for 90 days in rocketry during the 1950s.

Joseph Simpson remembers most profoundly from World War 2 his feelings when he got out of the Rur River. He did not think he would get out of that situation [Annotator's Note: Simpson was swept over a boat crossing the Rur River when German machine gun fire drove him into the frigid water. It was a near death experience]. He ducked death several times in the war. He had no transition problems with moving from soldier to civilian after the war. He worked for Lockheed Aircraft who immediately took him in because of his experience. He worked with aircraft during those postwar career years. Simpson went to war because he was drafted and the government said he had to fight. He did not volunteer. The war changed his life by making a better man out of him. He went and did what he had to do. World War 2 had to be done because of Hitler. He was insane and a tyrant. He thought he could do anything. He killed so many Jews and foreign people. Simpson feels The National WWII Museum should continue to educate the young on how to provide security to people instead of taking lives.