Paul Rothenheber was born in September 1925 in Lorsch, Germany. He left Germany when he was two years old. His parents left first to get a home ready, then Rothenheber and his brothers joined them the following year. His parents left Germany because there was not much work. They had family in America. The family moved to Troy, New York. Eventually, Rothenheber moved to Massachusetts for work. Troy was an old city and many of the people were from Europe. His father dug ditches with the WPA [Annotator's Note: Works Progress Administration, later the Work Projects Administration], then he became a baker. They moved to the outskirts of the town and his father raised chickens. Many minorities moved into the area, but they were not educated. At home, his mother spoke German, and the kids spoke back in English. Because of this, Rothenheber could understand German, but not speak it. They had family in Germany. The family did not discuss the war in Europe much, but all three kids joined the service immediately. Rothenheber wanted to join the Navy, but they would not let him join because he was not a citizen. His father was a citizen, which helped him get into the Navy. It was never a problem for him again. Later in life, he started doing top secret research for the government, even though he was not a citizen. Rothenheber decided to join the Navy because he had friends in the Navy and his brothers joined the Army. He also thought it would be an easier life. The attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] changed his family because his brothers had to serve immediately. Rothenheber did not think he would come of age in time to serve. His family did not talk about it. All of Rothenheber's friends joined the military. He was drafted when he turned 18 years old.

Paul Rothenheber went to Rhode Island for a six week boot camp. He did alot of marching and took many classes. He was placed in the medical department. He was then sent to Bainbridge [Annotator's Note: Bainbridge, Maryland] for medical school. He was trained to become a nurse. He was there for six weeks learning how to treat people. When aboard his ship, a wounded man died and Rothenheber was told to embalm the man, but he did not know how. A doctor gave him a pamphlet on how to embalm a body. He messed up his first embalming. Another man was caught in a steel door and died. Rothenheber had to store him in a food locker after he embalmed him. He only embalmed two men during his service. Normally, Rothenheber was able to keep the sick and wounded alive. When he embalmed the first person, he had to do it on a cot. When he drained a body of its fluids, he sent them to the ocean. When they got to a port, they shipped the bodies to their home towns.

After he completed his training, Paul Rothenheber was assigned to the USS Monticello (APA-61), a troop transport ship. A year later, the Europa [Annotator's Note: SS Europa] was captured and Rothenheber joined its crew in Bermerhaven, Germany. Because he was German, he did not have ill feelings toward Germany. When he landed in Le Havre, France, he looked up his aunt, who lived in the town. He found her house in ruins, but could not find her. He stopped in a bar and was knocked out and robbed. Bremerhaven had been bombed by the British before he arrived. The people were not particularly friendly towards the Americans. They found some entertainment for the evening, then returned to the Europa. Rothenheber took the ship back to New Jersey for an overhaul. While in New Jersey, Rothenheber lived in hotels until the ship was ready. He did not follow the war much because there was not much news. Once the ship was ready, Rotheheber began ferrying replacement troops back to England and France. Once the troops departed, the ship was filled with German prisoners and brought back to the United States. Rothenheber did not like the weather in England, but the civilians treated him well. Rothenheber enjoyed dancing with the women there. He made a trip to London [Annotator's Note: London, England], but overall he did not like England because it was cold and damp. He saw some of the bombed areas in the country. The English tried to clean the bomb messes quickly. The English liked the Americans and treated them well. Rothenheber never used his last name, so he never experienced any ill will. He did not tell people he was German. After the war, Rothenheber went back to Germany to visit his family. His brother was able to visit their grandparents. Every time he stopped in Le Havre, he was allowed to visit the town. There was entertainment for the troops.

When transporting prisoners, Paul Rothenheber was put in charge of taking care of them because he spoke German. The prisoners seemed happy to be out of the war and going to the United States. The prisoners were either very young or very old. Rothenheber did not think the Germans were against the Americans and seemed happy. They missed their families though. He did not feel any ill will towards the prisoners. Beyond treating seasickness, he did not have to give much medical treatment. The prisoners were home sick, so he would talk to them about their families. He wanted to keep the prisoners calm. Rothenheber's crewmates did not have much contact with the prisoners beyond feeding them. The Naval personnel in general did not have much contact with the enemy. His ship was in the middle of the convoys. German submarines wanted to get to the troopships, but could not break through the destroyer screen. Rothenheber never experienced a submarine attack. Sometime a submarine would get close, but never attacked. A trip across the Atlantic Ocean took about five days. He made the journey around ten to 20 times. When the war ended, Rothenheber was in Germany, but his ship was not going to be going back to the United States. He had to make the trip on a German tanker. The tanker had a removable deck that hid guns. There was no food on the ship except black olives and coffee. Everyone was happy to return to the United States. Rothenheber believes he arrived in New Jersey. None of the trips made a distinct impression on him. He was just happy to make it across each time without being attacked. The Germans liked to sing, smoke, and sleep while on the ship. When the war ended, Rothenhaber would go to a hall that had music and beer. He could not wait to get home. His father was a German World War 1 veteran that served two years as a prisoner. He had to eat rats at the prison.

Paul Rothenheber was excited to be back home. He smoked alot of cigarettes at the time. When he would go home, he gave his dad cigarettes. When he returned to the United States, he was discharged from the Navy immediately. He joined the Navy reserve, so he was able to get out when the war ended. He adjusted to civilian life just fine. Rothenheber enjoyed parting. He never used the G.I. Bill, but was able to find work quickly. He attended college and attained an engineering degree. He began working at the Lincoln Laboratory in Massachusetts, building radar stations and satellites. He was an electrical engineer. Rothenheber installed a satellite in Trinidad [Annotator's Note: island in the Caribbean] and experienced their Mardi Gras [Annotator's Note: Carnival holiday]. He does not think his experience in the military had an effect on his work. He had to get a GED before going to college. He loved his job and stayed at the laboratory for 30 years.

Paul Rothenheber was never in direct action. He thought France was strange. He was knocked out in Le Havre [Annotator's Note: Le Havre, France]. The bathrooms were in the middle of the town, which he thought was strange. He saw damage in the town. He never found out what happened to his aunt who lived there. Rothenheber was drafted, but was initially told he could not be in the Navy because he was not a citizen. His dad was a citizen, and when they saw his last name, they figured he was a citizen as well. Rothenheber did not want to be in the military, but he did enjoy it. He felt sorry for the people he brought back and forth. A German officer gave Rothenheber his sword because he took care of the prisoners. Someone stole the sword. He remembered the younger prisoners crying because they wanted to go home. Rothenheber was happy he could do something for his family. Both of his brothers were drafted into the Army. He thinks the war made people understand what they should be doing. He believes the United States will always have enemies. Rothenheber thinks The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is wonderful and thinks the history of the war should be taught. He wants people to know what that generation went through because of the war whether it was on the battlefield or in the factories. Rothenheber was happy to get home and back to life.