Leonard Jindra was born near Prague, Czechoslovakia in June 1921. He had two brothers and an adopted sister. He was raised on a farm and attended school until his father died when Jindra was 16 years of age. His farm experience would pay dividends in combat as he could advise his outfit on how European farms were oriented and potential German defense locations. Jindra had relatives in the United States who returned to Czechoslovakia for visits. They brought along American cowboy comic books. The comics impressed Jindra and he became interested in going to the United States. He prioritized those efforts when he saw Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] increase his power. It took two years for him to successfully enter the United States in June 1938. He had managed to pass the tough examination requiring a knowledge of the geography and history of the United States. He arrived in New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] as a legal immigrant within the established quota requirements. Jindra stayed with relatives and worked in the daytime and attended school at night. After working one year in a leather factory, he moved on to a job as a restaurant busboy. Following that, he took on employment in a jewelry store. It was while lifting a heavy store front glass window that he ruptured himself and had a hernia.

Leonard Jindra was listening to a radio broadcast by Walter Winchell [Annotator's Note: Walter Winchell, American newspaper columnist and radio news commentator] when he heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He immediately decided to enlist. Jindra already resented what Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] was doing. Additionally, his mother had advised him before his immigration to be loyal to the United States. He had not received any mail from his home in Czechoslovakia since 1940. Jindra reported to the draft board and was called upon for a physical examination. He was not accepted because he had developed a hernia that needed surgery. Jindra was anxious to join the military and sought the best way to overcome his 4F [Annotator's Note: Selective Service Classification indicating that an individual is unfit for military service] status. The rejection did not deter him. Surgery was too expensive for him at the time, but he saved up enough money by working two jobs. A doctor even added some money to his shortfall to allow for Jindra's operation. After recovering, he returned to work and reported back to the draft board. He told them of his operation. He was accepted following his next physical examination at Fort Dix [Annotator's Note: now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey]. He was inducted there and sent by train to Georgia for infantry basic training. He had a brief furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] after basic and then reported to Fort Meade [Annotator's Note: Fort George G. Meade in Fort Meade, Maryland]. Next was Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. He shipped out of New York Harbor [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] on a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship]. They had to stay below deck and could not view the Statue of Liberty. When the men were allowed on deck a couple days later, they observed a huge convoy surrounding them. Their ship arrived in Liverpool, England following a 12 day passage. They were destined to train for combat and amphibious assault with the 29th Infantry Division. A man from H Company [Annotator's Note: Jindra was in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division] was killed when he fell between a landing craft and the ship. As the training proceeded, the troops became more confident in their abilities.

Leonard Jindra heard many rumors while training in England. In the 29th [Annotator's Note: Jindra was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division], Jindra had a wonderful battalion commander [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant Colonel William E. Warfield] but he was killed on 10 June [Annotator's Note: 10 June 1944]. The training in the run up to the invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] was very good. The Division swelled from 10,000 to 30,000 troops while in England. Jindra and his company buddies learned each other's capabilities. The men developed a trust in each other. When one man experienced a theft, the culprit was beaten then no more incidents occurred. Jindra was teased because of his Czech [Annotator's Note: Czechoslovakian] accent. Because his superiors thought he spoke German fluently, he often was sent on patrols even though he only spoke a few words in German. The 29th Division was the blue and gray division [Annotator's Note: the 29th Infantry Division's shoulder sleeve insignia is a taeguk with one curve colored blue and the other grey] which represented the Civil War [Annotator's Note: American Civil War, 1861 to 1865] uniform colors. At times, the teasing between rebels and yankees could get a little testy. Jindra never had trouble with his nickname, Czech. The men enjoyed joking with each other even in combat. The troops went through many dry runs in preparation for D-Day. They realized the real thing was on when they had to pack their personal things to be shipped home and any extra gear went in a duffle bag that later would be sent to them. They had to carry their basic infantry gear with them. The men never saw the duffle bags again. The men packed up on trucks and reached Plymouth [Annotator's Note: Plymouth, England] and boarded a boat.

Leonard Jindra crossed the English Channel en route to the amphibious invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. The men had been playing cards prior to loading aboard the landing crafts. The trip over had not seemed long. A good meal was prepared for the invasion troops. They realized that the invasion was finally going to occur. The Air Force did not create the craters on the beach that were promised to the assault troops. Visibility was limited to the men coming ashore because of the haze created by gunfire. The men kept moving forward as the training and orders defined for them. Jindra's commanding officer was hit. The platoon sergeant pulled the cargo net away from the ship when Jindra fell while boarding the landing craft. This reaction likely saved Jindra's life. His outfit [Annotator's Note: Company F, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division] landed in the wrong location. Many men drowned before getting to the beach. Things did not work the way the plans had been laid out. After departing the boat, the troops sheltered behind hedgehogs [Annotator's Note: steel obstructions built by the defending Germans to impale landing crafts]. Jindra kept believing he would survive the beach despite seeing all the dead. Hearing the voices of wounded men calling for their mothers to help them was unforgettable. Luck resulted in Jindra's survival. It was a matter of being in a different place during the fight than other unlucky individuals. He had been next to a man in a foxhole that was killed by sniper fire. Nevertheless, Jindra thought his time on the beach would never end. He had to run for cover to avoid the machine gun bullets that pursued him.

Leonard Jindra met different types of individuals while in training. Some were surprisingly particular but, when in combat, they were one for all and all for one. The men shared equally with one another, whether it was food or water from a canteen. Combat drives individuals to become part of the group.

Leonard Jindra could not tell where he was but he stayed up that first night after landing [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He forced himself to stay awake during his time on guard. The enemy could have slit his throat otherwise. His battalion [Annotator's Note: Jindra was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division] made progress, but Jindra did not realize it. He simply moved forwarded as ordered. Many men were lost on the first few days. Replacements arrived. They were not familiar with the veterans so the effectiveness of a team was hindered. It took time to reorganize the new men so that they could learn the basics that the veterans knew about. Many men had been lost on D-Day and shortly afterward. Jindra received direction from squad or platoon leaders not by his company commander. A good commander could be tough but at the same time fair to his men. He would check on his men and how they were doing. General Cota [Annotator's Note: then US Army Brigadier General, later Major General, Norman Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota, Sr.] was right there with his men on D-Day. His superior officer [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Charles Hunter Gerhardt] was not and the troops knew that. They never saw their division commander. They saw General George Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] who told them that the rear echelon would not be impacted by the war like the troops at the front. After combat, Jindra understood what Patton meant. Cota was respected by his men while the division commander was mocked. Likewise, the battalion commander Colonel Winfield [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant Colonel William E. Warfield] was a respected leader. He died in an ambush on 10 June [Annotator's Note: 10 June 1944]. The Germans had been waiting for the advancing Americans and all hell broke loose. The colonel was killed when he refused to surrender to the Germans.

Leonard Jindra lost friends at the point of a German ambush [Annotator's Note: on 10 June 1944 while serving as an infantryman in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division in Normandy, France]. When that happens, an individual's reactions cannot be predicted or judged. He could lash out and kill innocent people because he is not thinking straight. Dealing with German prisoners was difficult. [Annotator's Note: Jindra hesitates to detail any experiences.] After initial combat, reassignments split friends into different units. Many replacements arrived after casualties were sustained. The new men were not felt to be part of the existing team that had trained together for months. Jindra's first wound was in the leg. He was treated at a first aid station near the front. Artillery fire was landing nearby while he recovered. He returned to his outfit in two days. The second wound came when tanks were attacking his pinned down unit. Jindra stopped a tank with a bazooka [Annotator's Note: shoulder fired, 2.36 inch anti-tank rocket] round. A second tank fired on him through the hedgerows. That was when Jindra was wounded in the neck. That resulted in him being pulled off the line by the medics. They took him away in an ambulance. He was operated on in a field hospital and then sent by ship to England. He was admitted to a rehab [Annotator's Note: rehabilitation] hospital for two months to recover. He returned to France as a limited assignment replacement in the 19th Repo Depo [Annotator's Note: slang for Replacement Depot]. His life there was far better than being at the front in the combat zone. He could relax. He was well fed. He had a bunk to sleep on at night. He did not have to sleep in the rain in a foxhole. He felt safe. He had none of the weight of combat responsibilities.

Leonard Jindra never saw any troops he served with intentionally commit crimes. It was the rear echelon troops who performed those misdeeds. It was not the combat troops with Jindra who did the crimes. Jindra confronted soldiers who did not act with dignity and respect for the property of the innocent people. The strict leadership of combat troops prevented the perpetration of crimes. The same cannot be said for the rear echelon troops. Combat troops followed orders from their superiors. Jindra was promoted to staff sergeant before Saint-Lo [Annotator's Note: Saint-Lô, France]. His platoon of 40 men was split after his sergeant was wounded. Jindra was named to replace the wounded man. They searched for 88mm guns [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] that were firing on them. They found themselves in a perilous position and Jindra managed to withdraw his men to safety across open ground. The other group was captured. Two days later, Jindra was named squad leader and staff sergeant. That action in saving his group without casualties along with his previous combat experience may have been factors in his promotion.

Leonard Jindra [Annotator's Note: an infantryman in the Company F, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division in Normandy, France] experienced the intensity of the German 88mm [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] gun fire. It was an intimidating experience similar to being attacked by an enemy tank. Jindra took out a German tank with a bazooka [Annotator's Note: shoulder fired, 2.36 inch anti-tank rocket]. There was no infantry protection for the advancing tank. Jindra aimed for the tracks of the tank and stopped it. A second tank fired through the hedgerow and managed to wound Jindra with shrapnel. He was in the hospital in England for about two months while recovering from his wound. He missed being with his men but felt gratitude that he was out of the fighting. It is difficult for Jindra to remember where he was when the war ended. He was experiencing pain in his wounded area and had to have another surgical procedure. After being sent to England, Jindra did not go into combat again. He returned to France and worked with watches. He returned to the hospital afterward for another operation. From there, he returned to the United States by ship. After some stateside hospital time, he was discharged from the Army. He returned home on a stretcher. He suffered severe injuries.

Leonard Jindra returned to Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France] decades after D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] in 1999. He did not recognize the quiet beach at all. He looked up to see the flash of gunfire he remembered from the pillboxes. He looked at the ocean and remembered the landing craft hitting the beach. He was glad to return but that day was not the massacre it was on D-Day. Visiting the beach paid homage to the men who died. He can still see their faces. He will meet them again. He will recognize those 20-year-old men who died that day. Jindra hopes that they will recognize him since he is now over 90 years old. If the older leaders had to go to war first instead of the young men, there would likely be no new wars. The "Greatest Generation" never came back. They were the real heroes. Jindra and his family will return to Normandy with other veterans if he is able to do so. During the interview, Jindra found himself suppressing some things that are too difficult to recall. It does not help to bring them up again.