Richard Graff was born in August 1924 on a farm outside of Popejoy, Iowa. His parents were German immigrants born in the 1870s. Graff had six sisters. Some of his sisters had children by the time Graff was born. His father died when he was young, and his mother spent much of her time caring for a sick daughter. Graff was lonely, there was only one boy in his area, and he was half a mile away. He spent much of his time reading, using his imagination, and playing with his dog. Graff attended a small school house half a mile from his home. The school had no running water or electricity. His farm produced cream, raised hogs and cattle, and had chickens. The family moved to town while Graff was in the eighth grade. It was the first time he lived in a home with electricity, but he still did not have running water. The PWA [Annotator's Note: a New Deal program, Public Works Administration] built a modern high school in the town. Everything around the town had to be in range of a horse. Transportation in the town evolved quickly starting in the 1880s when the railroad was first laid. His school had American and European history. His teacher would bring classical music records for the class to hear. Teachers were given six weeks of training before they were sent to a school. Graff's high school class had 50 kids in it and he made it through advanced algebra. Graff went to business college in Mason City, Iowa. It was his first time away from home. He learned accounting methods, typing, filing, office procedures, and how to work with other people. He started working in a CPA [Annotator's Note: Certified Public Accountant] firm and a meat packing plant. He then got a job in Washington [Annotator's Note: Washington, D.C.] working for the FBI [Annotator's Note: Federal Bureau of Investigation]. He worked as a messenger, then as a teletype operator. He thought Hoover [Annotator's Note: John Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972] was a good example. Graff worked the switchboard for a little while. Graff was then drafted into the military.

Richard Graff did not mind being drafted because he knew he was going to have to fight in the war. He thinks his ethic came from his German family. He wanted to be drafted from his home county, not Washington [Annotator’s Note: Washington D.C.], so he asked for a transfer and got it. Graff did his training at Camp Dodge, Iowa [Annotator's Note: Johnston, Iowa]. He was tested to be a radio operator, but failed the test. He passed his IQ test and was sent to college. Graff was drafted into the Army and did infantry training at Camp Fannin, Texas [Annotator's Note: near Tyler, Texas]. When basic training ended, Graff was sent to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] to get a college education. He was trained to be an engineer. Graff missed his final examination, but was able to pass a verbal examination. After six months at the university, Graff was sent to the 104th Infantry Division at Camp Carson, Colorado [Annotator's Note: near Stratmoor, Colorado]. He arrived a few months before the division shipped overseas. The commanding general was Terry Allen [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr.], who commanded the 1st Division [Annotator's Note: 1st Infantry Division] in North Africa and Italy. During the division's final training, they had a leader that really knew combat. The division received the Presidential Unit Citation for a successful night attack. The division learned night fighting from Terry Allen. The division took a hill on 5 December 1944. During the attack, Graff carried wounded soldiers to the battalion aid station. There was mortar and artillery fire in the area Graff was in while he carried the wounded. He would have to dive into ditches to avoid enemy shells. The next morning, they found a German machine gun nest in the area Graff had been all night. The Germans never shot their machine gun. Graff felt lucky.

Because of his education, Richard Graff worked in the company [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division] clerk's office. He was sent on the advanced party for the overseas trip. He was taught how to drive various vehicles for the assignment. While in combat, Graff served as a truck driver. Graff’s loyalty was too many things, but especially to his squad mates. His division was supposed to be the first into France, but it remained in England. The trip to England only took a few days, instead of the usual several weeks because the ship did not worry about submarines. A USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations] group was on Graff's ship, including Bing Crosby [Annotator's Note: Harry Lillies "Bing" Crosby, Jr.; American performer]. Graff's ship, the Ile de France [Annotator's Note: SS Ile de France], landed in northern England, and was welcomed by Spitfires [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] flying around the ship. Graff was quickly sent to England after D-Day [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. His unit got the ground ready for the other troops coming over. Graff took five drivers, got them trucks, and showed them where their areas were. He saw the hedgerows of Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France]. His division moved out to Belgium, and then Holland. The men slept in pup tents. They were within their own artillery range, so Graff got used to the sound of artillery. He also experienced hearing buzz bombs [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] going overhead. On 28 October 1944, the division went on its first offensive. The first incoming shell killed the battalion surgeon. The men were not used to incoming shells. Everyone had a shovel so they could make themselves cover. During the second shelling, Graff was very afraid and did not think he would survive. Graff believes everyone should make the most out of every day.

The division's [Annotator's Note: Richard Graff was a member of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division] mission was to clear the port at Antwerp [Annotator's Note: Antwerp, Belgium]. Richard Graff frequently served as a litter bearer. Not long after, Graff moved to Aachen [Annotator's Note: Aachen, Germany], where he saw his first fire fight. His division took over the positions the 1st Division [Annotator's Note: 1st Infantry Division] had occupied. Graff's commanding officer, Terry Allen Allen [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr.], had previously lead the 1st Division. While moving through the Maginot Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by France in the 1930s], Graff slept in pillboxes in the Siegfried Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s]. He was supposed to fire into a nearby pillbox. He set up a machine gun down in the middle of the road and shot at a target. A mortar hit in front of him and slightly wounded him. Graff was told to report to the rear to be awarded a Purple Heart [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy], but he refused to walk back almost a mile for the medal. The first town he captured was Eschweiler [Anndotator’s Note: Eschweiler, Germany]. Graff slept in pup tents and foxholes, unless he was in a town, then he was able to sleep in a bed. On Thanksgiving Day 1944, Graff was in Eschweiler when he heard he would be given a hot meal. He was walking and eating, which he thought was delicious. He was searching for somewhere to stand and eat. Graff stumbled upon a truck full of American bodies, but he was still able to eat. That memory stayed with Graff and he suffered from PTSD [Annotator's Note: post traumatic stress disorder]. The combat troops always did their job. While crossing the Roer River, he lost four men in his platoon. When he talks to kids about his experience, he names those four soldiers. After the crossing, Graff saw an assault boat on the river bank. He saw one of his friends dead near it. He thinks war gets very personal. He said a prayer for his friend, then went back to the battle. The biggest city Graff helped capture was Cologne [Annotator's Note: Cologne, Germany]. The German commander failed to blow up a bridge at Remagen [Annotator's Note: the Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany], allowing the Americans to cross it. Graff crossed the Rhine River a few miles south of the bridge. For 41 days, he moved across Germany. His unit moved so fast that supplies had a difficult time keeping up. While passing through farm country, his unit stole some eggs. He captured a structure inside a mountain that held a manufacturing line for V-1 [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] and V-2 rockets [Annotator's Note: German Vergeltungswaffe 2, or Retribution Weapon 2, ballistic missile]. The American intelligence did not know that factory existed. Graff thought the German supply system was very efficient. He thinks many things were done right and wrong. Graff did not get to see the factory. There was a prison camp associated with the factory. While going through the area, the German troops had left, leaving the prisoners to starve. The American officers wanted the German civilians to see what had happened in their country. Graff did not see the dead bodies. He was not surprised when he was told about what had happened. He thinks he was desensitized because of all the death he already saw. Graff's unit moved at night, even when it was completely dark. The Americans carried gas masks from D-Day [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] until they entered Germany. Graff took a stamp book from a German house. He felt like he was liberating objects, not stealing them. Graff also took some gold spoons and pictures.

Richard Graff continued moving through Germany. There were displaced people as well as American and German prisoners of war on the road. He hauled some of the displaced people and POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. Several trucks moved the German prisoners to POW camps seven miles in the rear. Graff did that all day and into the night. On one of the convoys, Graff had to pull over so a German could vomit. The remainder of the convoy continued without his truck. None of the Germans tried to take over the truck. Before the end of the war, Graff stayed in a town with little damage. He was told to guard a bakery. The Americans helped the Germans continue their lifestyles. He believes the Marshall Plan [Annotator's Note: European Recovery Program; a post war plan devised to help rebuild Europe, named for its creator, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General George Catlett Marshall, Jr.] did the same thing, only on the national level. When the war ended in Europe, Graff's division [Annotator's Note: Graff was a member of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division] was sent back to the United States to learn beach assaults in California. He was training for war in the Pacific. While he was in the United States, the bombs [Annotator's Note: atomic bombs] were dropped. Graff was thankful to Harry [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States]. He found out the place he was supposed to land at in Japan and he knew it would be brutal. In Japan, the countryside was not as damaged as the cities. He believes it would have been very bloody. Graff enjoyed going to the beach with some of his comrades. He liked to ride waves on a mattress. While he was on the train home, the MPs [Annotator's Note: military police] checked everyone's bags for liquor. They did not find Graff's bottle, so he was able to drink it with his mother.

Richard Graff's sister, a nurse, started working in a hospital in California after the war. After a weekend together, she suggested that Graff should see a doctor about combat fatigue [Annotator's Note: a period term for post traumatic stress disorder]. After a few months at university, he was given disability money because of his condition. Graff studied engineering. During the 1950s, his condition came back. He does not have issues often anymore because he talks about his experience so often. He thinks his mission is to educate people, especially kids, about the war. Graff's unit [Annotator's Note: Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division] used to do reunions, where the officers told the men to educate children. While looking at a school's Civil War exhibit, he asked if he could start talking to the students about his experiences at war. Graff talks to seventh graders and high school juniors. He thinks people should learn about various things, make as many friends as possible, and have as much fun as possible. He lives his life by those standards. The war allowed Graff to meet many people and experience different situations. He tries to be positive. Graff thinks it is important to make sure people, especially kids, do not forget about the war. He was surprised to see so many children at The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana].