Robert Haffner was born in November 1924 on the eastern side of Detroit, Michigan. Haffner remembers growing up in a neighborhood that was home to all different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, including African-Americans. He remembered he always walked to school with his classmates. He recalls that during the Great Depression, mostly everyone in his neighborhood who worked in factories lost their jobs. Haffner's father was a jeweler and was fortunate to keep his job throughout the Depression, even though the family struggled some as it wore on. Haffner says by 1931, his father was only able to work one day a week which forced the family to seek welfare benefits. As a result of Prohibition and the Depression, Haffner remembers bootlegging operations springing up around his neighborhood in the basements of candy stores and ice cream parlors. In 1933, Haffner's father voted for Franklin Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] because of his promise to bring jobs back to America. By 1938, Haffner became aware of Hitler's [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] rising power in Europe when several European family members fled Germany to begin new lives in the United States.

On 7 December 1941, Robert Haffner and a friend of his borrowed their fathers' cars and rode around Detroit celebrating the beginning of the war. Haffner says he did not realize at the time how the war would affect him. In January 1943, Haffner graduated from high school and was drafted into the Army. Some years before, Haffner had been inspired by a film showing the role of engineers in the military. This experience influenced Haffner to request that he be assigned as an engineer when he was drafted. His request was granted and he was sent to Fort Belvoir, Virginia to begin his training as an engineer. While at Fort Belvoir, Haffner became a truck driver, a position he held throughout his time in the service. In the fall of 1943, after eight months of training in Virginia, Haffner was sent to Georgia to complete airborne training. He met his wife at a dance hall. She gave him a hard time so a friend of hers gave him her number. They dated while he was in Georgia. Following airborne training, Haffner was stationed for a short time at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey before boarding the SS Rangitiki bound for Europe. He recalls that rumors and fear of submarine attacks persisted across the Atlantic until the ship docked in Dover, England. In Dover, Haffner was assigned to Company A, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. From March until May 1944, Haffner and the 307th took glider training at Burbage, England.

[Annotator's Note: Robert Haffner served in the Army as a truck driver in Company A, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division.] The 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion anticipated landing in Normandy with other elements of the 82nd Airborne Division ahead of the invasion but were called back and assigned as replacement troops. On 17 September 1944, Haffner and the 307th landed in Holland under German antiaircraft fire with the objective of securing the Nijmegen Bridge [Annotator's Note: Nijmegen, Netherlands]. Haffner says his battalion was to meet up with advancing ground troops after two days to be resupplied and reinforced. After eight days, ground troops finally arrived. Haffner recalls assessing damage on the Nijmegen Bridge, but being unable to repair it as his unit was not equipped with heavy machinery. Haffner and the 307th then advanced into the Brittany Peninsula [Annotator's Note: Brittany, France] where they worked to secure the area. Haffner says after action in the Brittany Peninsula, his unit was supposed to be pulled from the front lines for a leave in France. Haffner and others had made plans to visit Paris but were unable to as their orders for rest were cancelled and they were ordered north into Belgium to participate in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Haffner recalls passing through the center of Bastogne [Annotator's Note: Bastogne, Belgium] unhindered just days before the 101st Airborne Division was trapped in the town. Haffner's unit was stationed on the outskirts of Bastogne while waiting for the siege to be broken. Following the siege, Haffner and the 307th advanced behind Patton's [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] Third Army through the Ardennes Forest.

While marching through the Ardennes, Robert Haffner recalls a German jet flying overhead and firing on the 82nd Airborne Division inflicting casualties. Haffner says he and others anticipated the return of the jet and upon the jet's return, Haffner says they all opened fire on it. Haffner claims that it was he who shot the jet down. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview at 0:53:27.000.] A couple of days later, Haffner found the crashed jet with the dead pilot. Haffner continued north into Germany and came across a concentration camp. Haffner saw an open mass grave in the town on the outskirts of the camp; he believes the bodies were those of German citizens. Upon entering the concentration camp, Haffner came across a malnourished man on the bottom bunk of one of the camp's bunkhouses. He says the man motioned to his lips as if smoking a cigarette. Haffner gave him the cigarette and says the man reacted to the first puff of the cigarette as though it was the best thing he had ever done. In April 1945, Haffner continued and crossed the Rhine River into Germany. Haffner recalls meeting up with Russian forces before being pulled back from the front lines to a German horse farm. By the end of May, Haffner boarded a train bound for Berlin [Annotator's Note: Berlin, Germany] to assist in securing the American Sector in Berlin with members of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. In Berlin, Haffner recalls Russian soldiers erecting a barbed wire structure near the Brandenburg Gate to delineate the American and Russian sectors.

Robert Haffner was moved to Dresden [Annotator's Note: Dresden, Germany] after the war was declared over in the Pacific. In December [Annotator's Note: December 1945], Haffner boarded a Victory ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] from Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France] to be transported back to the United States. Haffner says the ship was due in New York or New Jersey by Christmas Day but did not arrive until New Year's Eve Day 1946 due to terrible weather conditions that lasted about a week. After the ship landed in America, Haffner boarded a train to a camp in Indiana where he was discharged with the rank of Private First Class. He remembered the neighbors and his family gave him a warm welcome home. In 2017, Haffner and five other veterans from the Detroit area were awarded the French Legion of Honor for the efforts in France.

In 1949, Robert Haffner helped establish the Detroit Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association and served as its Vice President for a time. He is the only charter member still alive. He attended many reunions of the 82nd Airborne; the retirement party of General Jim Gavin [Annotator's Note: US Army General James Gavin] in 1962 stands out to Haffner. He recalled his captain being very helpful especially when he was ill with diarrhea. Haffner recalled some of the sights while in Europe including a church in Cologne [Annotator's Note: Cologne, France] and the large beer barrels in Germany. He remembered how the gliders were very fickle and difficult to steer. He was able to land his well, but many of them crashed.

Robert Haffner took advantage of the G.I. Bill's unemployment benefits and drew 20 dollars per week in 1946 and 1947 while learning to be a jeweler like his father. The Veterans Affairs told him that the government would cover his hospitalization insurance as part of his benefits, but years later he was denied. He eventually worked everything out and received the benefits he was promised. Robert Haffner remembered the most memorable experience of World War 2 was going overseas and realizing how serious being in battle can be. He joined the service because he liked the fact of being in a uniform. He believed that he did one of the greatest jobs in the world and was able to come back alive. Haffner believes he is a hero because he went to war while others tried to find ways to get out of going to war.

Robert Haffner went to Georgia to meet with a girl, Ruby, who he had met before he went overseas. He proposed to her and traveled across county to marry in Hollywood, California. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview at 1:52:50.000.] They took a very long honeymoon and have been happy through the years. He believes it is important to teach people about World War 2 history.