Milton Moxon was born in Sparta, Michigan in March 1925 and grew up in Grand Rapids. He was the fifth of seven children. His father worked for the US Postal Service and remained employed throughout the years of the Great Depression. Life during the Depression was not bad for Moxon but he learned at a young age that if he wanted something he had to work for it. To earn money, he worked a newspaper route with one of his sisters then later went to work at the main library in Grand Rapids as a pageboy putting books back on the shelf, pulling requested works from the stacks, and even working the book check out desk when the librarian needed a short break. When he left the library, Moxon took a job as a handyman for a doctor. Moxon had just transferred from Union High School to Davis Technical High School when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War 2. Shortly after the 7 December 1941 attack, his two older brothers volunteered for service. His brother Franklin enlisted in the Army, completed officer candidate school, received a commission, and was sent to North Africa as a replacement training officer. His other brother, John Vincent, also joined the Army but remained in the United States for the duration of the war. During the summer between his junior and senior years of high school, Moxon went to Chicago to live with his sister and brother-in-law for a few months. While there, he met a girl from Louisiana who was there living with her sister in the same building where Moxon was staying. The two began dating and ended up marrying after the war. Moxon entered the military 1 July 1943 when he was drafted. He choose the Army.

On 1 July 1943, Milton Moxon received his draft notice. He reported to Fort Hood, Texas for basic training after which he volunteered for, and was accepted into, the Army Specialized Training Program, or ASTP. He was sent to the University of Florida to be trained as an engineer. When the ASTP was disbanded, Moxon was sent to Camp McCain near Grenada, Mississippi where he joined the 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division as an infantryman. Moxon and the 94th Infantry Division spent the next six months undergoing intensive combat training which Moxon credits with helping him to survive in combat. After completing this training, Moxon got a furlough. He returned to Chicago where he proposed to his girlfriend. She said yes and the two agreed that they would marry when he returned from overseas. Moxon and the 94th Infantry Division deployed overseas in late July 1944 and arrived in Scotland in mid-August. After being put ashore in small boats, the GIs [Annotator's Note: Government Issue; slang term for American soldiers] were put aboard a train for the trip south to England. Moxon's stay in England lasted about a month during which the men were kept busy staying in good physical shape.

Around the second week of September [Annotator's Note: September 1944], Milton Moxon and the 94th Infantry Division crossed the English Channel and went ashore in Normandy. They bivouacked in a wet, muddy field overnight then were sent to the West Coast of France where they were responsible for guarding ports and harbors. They continued this work until late December 1944. On 26 December 1944, ten days after the Germans launched their Ardennes Offensive, also known as the Battle of the Bulge, Moxon and the rest of the 94th Infantry Division were fed Christmas Dinner then moved by truck and train to the southern shoulder of the Bulge. The trip took three or four days, most of which was rather uncomfortable as it was in open top trucks. When they arrived at the front, Moxon's platoon [Annotator's Note: 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division] was immediately sent out to knock out several German strong points on the Siegfried Line [Annotator's Note: series of defensive fortifications built by Germany in the 1930s]. While attacking one of the fortifications, a German officer with a submachine gun killed Moxon's platoon leader. Moxon and his fellow riflemen fired back at the enemy soldier but were not able to hit him. Finally, one of the platoon's bazooka men fired a rocket that hit the face of the concrete bunker the enemy soldier was taking cover in front of and killed him. They were then able to continue their advance. As they cleared each enemy fortification, engineers would come up with explosives and destroy them.

For Milton Moxon and the 94th Infantry Division, weather and terrain conditions were horrible on the front. Some men suffered from post traumatic stress. After conducting these operations for a couple weeks, Moxon's unit [Annotator's Note: Company B, 1st Battalion, 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division] was pulled off the line and marched back about ten miles through the snowy forest for a short rest during which he was able to take a hot shower. It was a great morale booster to relieve the stress of the artillery fire, burnt powder, destruction and death. The heavy overcoats helped protect them from the cold. Troop travel, particularly via truck, was cold and perilous. Moxon nearly fell off a truck when he fell asleep and the vehicle made a sharp turn. The men supplied food to some locals and, in return, information was provided to the Americans by the resident civilians.

When their break from combat was up, Milton Moxon and his regiment [Annotator's Note: Moxon was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division] were ordered to attack out of the positions they occupied. They crossed the border into Germany and continued to move forward. His regiment received a commendation for their efforts. The price was a high casualty rate. On 2 February 1945, Moxon and two inexperienced replacement soldiers were about 100 feet ahead of his platoon [Annotator's Note: 1st Platoon] acting as scouts when they came across an anti-tank ditch which was about eight feet wide and eight feet deep. The sides of the trap were straight and the ditch stretched as far as the eye could see. Moxon was trying to figure out how to get across it when he noticed a felled tree which had fallen partially into the trap. He got up on it and started sliding down when a massive explosion threw him into the air. He landed with a crash in the bottom of the tank trap. It did not take him long to figure out what had happened. The tree had been booby-trapped and he had set it off. One of his legs was numb. He was sure he had lost it, but when he looked down he saw that both of his legs were still there. Almost immediately, one of the other guys he was with, a Mexican-American who was about 30 years old and suffered arthritis in his knees, jumped the eight feet down into the tank trap. The man cut Moxon's trouser leg open and when he did, blood spurted out. One of his main veins or an artery had been severed. The man put pressure on the wound until Moxon could get the tourniquet out of his pack. He then applied the tourniquet and that stopped the flow of blood. The other two soldiers who had been with him had to leave Moxon and continue their advance. Moxon was lying in the bottom of the tank trap when his company commander, who had already advanced past that position, returned and told him that he was sending medics to pick him up. That single act really touched Moxon. [Annotator's Note: Moxon pauses with emotion remembering the act of his Captain.] Moments later, a medic arrived with two German POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. The German soldiers slid a ladder down into the ditch which allowed Moxon to climb out. Just as he reached the top of the trap, the tourniquet loosened and he began bleeding profusely again. Seeing this, one of the Germans, who happened to be an officer, stuck his hand inside his tunic. A soldier who had happened upon the scene pointed his rifle at the German officer's head, but Moxon told him not to shoot. The German withdrew his hand and in it was a bandage. He then proceeded to apply the bandage to Moxon's wound. It was a blessing for the wounded man. Moxon was put on a make-shift litter and taken to an aid station. Moxon thought that he was going into shock. He was given morphine. From there, he was moved to a field hospital where the shrapnel was removed. One of the removals was quite painful. His wound was sutured. A cast was put on him which went from his waist to his feet. He wore the cast for the next month or six weeks.

Milton Moxon was evacuated to a military hospital in England after being severely wounded in Germany. He remained there until shortly after the war in Europe ended. He was then shipped back to the United States on a hospital ship. The voyage was rough and seasickness was prevalent. He controlled his feelings of shipboard disorientation. Moxon ended up in a stateside hospital, most likely Winter General Army Hospital, in Topeka, Kansas. He suffered long-term pain in his foot from his wounds. His parents managed to visit him while he was in the hospital. Moxon was in the hospital in Topeka when the Japanese surrendered. The whole ward celebrated with the announcement. Before the announcement, there was some discussion of Moxon going back into the fight only against the Japanese. With his pain, Moxon could not return. An officer had considered that Moxon was cowardly. Moxon reminded the officer that he was wounded in the front of the advance into Germany. He was not yellow. Moxon was later discharged from the hospital in the late summer of 1945 with the rank of PFC, private first class.

After leaving the Army, Milton Moxon's transition from soldier to civilian was no problem. There were simply different responsibilities. He married his wife in Kinder, Louisiana before completing his first semester in college. The couple moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Moxon took advantage of his G.I. Bill benefits and completed his degree in electrical engineering in 1950 from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He was an honor student while in college. He worked his way through college with his wife's assistance. His small children watched as their father received his diploma. [Annotator's Note: Moxon becomes emotional.] That same year he went to work for Consumer Power Company. Moxon's career with Consumer Power lasted 35 years until his retirement in 1985.

Milton Moxon had no difficulties with nightmares or post traumatic stress after his service. His faith and church fellowship helped him in some ways. His wife and family also greatly aided him in handling the adverse effects. Moxon remembers his wounding and the concerned treatment he received as his most striking memory of the war. Moxon served because he felt it was necessary to get rid of the evil that was in Europe. The country and freedom needed to be protected. The people being persecuted needed help. Moxon's appreciated life, other people's freedom, and his ability to attend college through the G.I. Bill resulted from the war. He is surprised by the public's current recognition paid to him for his wartime service. Young people seem to be passionate and appreciative about what happened in the Second World War. It takes a lot to maintain freedom. Moxon is pleased to have participated on the Honor Flight [Annotator's Note: Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that flies American veterans to Washington DC to see the memorials to the wars they fought].