[Annotator’s Note: There is a clock ticking in the background throughout this segment.] Robert J. Hutchings was born in December 1921 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of five children, having two brothers and two sisters. His father and mother worked in the textile business, mostly with looms. [Annotator’s Note: clock dings at 0:04:39.000.] His father left the family in 1928 and it was up to his mother to raise the children. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], she continued to work and take care of the household. Hutchings does not remember talking about the war until he heard FDR’s [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] radio announcement of the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was 20 years when the event happened and knew that he would be drafted soon. He was working at a local hosiery mill as a stenographer. Hutchings decided to enlist in the summer of 1942, because he heard there was a better chance of moving up in the ranks faster. He went to Wilkes-Barre [Annotator’s Note: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania] to enlist in the Army Air Corps, but failed the eye test. He learned he was colorblind. He enlisted in the Army on 1 July 1942 at Shamokin [Annotator’s Note: Shamokin, Pennsylvania]. He was sent to Keesler Field in Mississippi for basic training, which was “a laugh.” He did not fire any weapons, but marched a lot, had KP duty [Annotator’s Note: kitchen patrol], and felt he did not learn much. His superiors discovered that he was an efficient stenographer, so he was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri where the Army gathered all the stenographers for two weeks. Then they boarded a train to Camp Shanks [Annotator’s Note: Camp Shanks, New York] where Hutchings and the rest of the stenographers boarded a ship for overseas deployment. He was on an English passenger ship with a convoy as they zigzagged [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] across the ocean. After two weeks at sea, the ship docked at Liverpool [Annotator’s Note: Liverpool, England]. Hutchings and 12 others took a train to London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] where he was assigned to the 8th Air Force Headquarters in Bushy Park, England. Two weeks later, he was transferred to the Allied Headquarters working on the North African Campaign under General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] in September 1942 in Grosvenor Square, London. He was promoted from private to master sergeant within six months. He worked closely with Eisenhower’s chief of staff, Walter B. Smith [Annotator’s Note: General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ)].

Robert J. Hutchings was assigned as a stenographer under the command of General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] in September 1942 in Grosvenor Square, London [Annotator’s Note: London, England]. His work hours were regular, from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon. The office he was assigned to was the office of the Secretary General’s Staff (SGS). Hutchings would receive paperwork and weed out unnecessary documents, then pass it to Eisenhower’s chief of staff, Walter B. Smith [Annotator’s Note: General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ)], who weeded out more paperwork, and then passed it to General Eisenhower, who received the meat of the paperwork for his action. This routine was ongoing for three years. Hutchings was once ordered to go on a secret mission to retrieve something important for Eisenhower. When he returned with the mail bag, the staff members opened it, turned the bag upside down, and a 10-pound ham dropped out. Hutchings was friends with a sergeant and personal chef to Eisenhower. His friend invited him over to Eisenhower’s villa for a meal where he was served steak and milk. He learned that Eisenhower received fresh milk because he had a cow in his garage. [Annotator’s Note: clock dings at 0:19:30.000.] When Hutchings looks back on his time in the military, he really did not understand fully at the time the importance of his work and who he was working for. He was so busy with his day-to-day activities that it never crossed his mind. Smith was very military-like. He rarely smiled and concentrated on his work and was a good man. He remarked on the relationship between Eisenhower and Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] and how they did not get along. Hutchings admired Eisenhower and how he performed his work. Eisenhower did not like details. He only asked for the meat of content. Eisenhower had no ego and never tried to take credit or seek glory for himself. He was the greatest hero of World War 2. When Eisenhower made the decision to invade Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], he said he would take all the responsibility if the invasion failed. Eisenhower was respected by everyone but General Montgomery [Annotator's Note: British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery] because they had different military strategies.

Robert J. Hutchings was assigned as a stenographer under the command of General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] in October 1942 in Grosvenor Square, London [Annotator’s Note: London, England]. He worked on the invasion plans for North Africa, and once Algiers [Annotator’s Note: Algiers, Algeria] was under control of Allied forces, he was transferred there with the rest of the headquarters. He took a B-17 bomber [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber], and because it was a skeleton crew flying the plane, he was assigned as the tail gunner. He never fired a shot. When he reached Algiers, he billeted in a convent for one year. His offices were in the St. George Hotel. His duties remained unchanged throughout his time in Algiers, with some small missions. One of his duties was to deliver “eye-only” messages to King George [Annotator’s Note: George VI, King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 1936 to 1952] at Buckingham Palace. [Annotator’s Note: Video pauses and goes black at 0:32:21.000.] Eisenhower had an infectious smile, but was a chain smoker. [Annotator’s Note: Clock dings at 0:34:09.000.] Hutchings’ work was very constant. Once they were done with the North Africa campaign, they moved on to the Sicily Campaign, then the Italy Campaign, and finally the Normandy Campaign. The only time he may have seen some of his superior tense was right before the Normandy invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. While he was in Algiers, Hutchings played in a big band for the Red Cross [Annotator's Note: Red Cross, an international non-profit humanitarian organization] events. He also saw Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE; British-American entertainer who was famous for entertaining American troops serving overseas during World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War] and his USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations, Inc.] show. [Annotator’s Note: Cell phone goes off at 0:39:28.000.] After his time in Algiers, Hutchings was transferred back to London in January 1944 and stayed in an apartment. The Germans bombed the city with V1 [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] and V2 bombs [Annotator's Note: German Vergeltungswaffe 2, or Retribution Weapon 2, ballistic missile].

Robert J. Hutchings was assigned as a stenographer under the command of General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] in October 1942 in London [Annotator’s Note: London, England]. During his down time, he got together with some friends and played the piano. Hutching recalled when the Normandy invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] was being planned, there were many meetings with superior officers. He talked about the status of messages from “Top Secret” to “Eyes Only”. [Annotator’s Note: Clock dings at 0:49:48.000.] After the liberation of Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France liberated in August 1944], the headquarters were moved to Versailles [Annotator’s Note: The Palace of Versailles, a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, France]. One of his duties in Paris was to do mail runs. He rode in a plane to Reims, France. When the Germans surrendered, he stood outside the little red schoolhouse where the signing took place. [Annotator’s Note: Pause to check time at 0:53:04.000.]

Robert J. Hutchings was assigned as a stenographer under the command of General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] in October 1942 in London [Annotator’s Note: London, England]. In the first week of January 1943, Major Burgess came to Hutchings and told him to pack his bags because he was going on a mission. He flew in a C-47 [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo aircraft] to Casablanca [Annotator’s Note: Casablanca, Morocco]. He was dropped off at an office to stay the night. He was picked up in a motorcar and was told that there was going to be a very important top secret meeting [Annotator’s Note: The Casablanca Conference, or Anfa Conference, held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, 14 to 24 January 1943] with Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States], Winston Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945], and the chiefs of staff of the United States and Great Britain. After the dignitaries had their meetings, it was Hutchings’ job to type up the meeting notes, which took all night long. This went on for two weeks until the meetings ended. He received a Bronze Star [Annotator's Note: the Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy] for his service in World War 2.