Theodore Finkbeiner was the middle child between a brother and sister. He had just started Northeast Junior College [Annotator's Note: in Monroe, Louisiana] when the war broke out. He joined the Army after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He knew he was ready to defend the country. He wanted adventure and had been a student of past wars. He was an experienced hunter so shooting a gun was second nature. He attempted to join the Marine Corps but was not accepted because of his color perception problems. The Army told him that he might serve in an observation aircraft because he would not be fooled by camouflage. He decided to volunteer for the paratroops and was accepted. He wanted to prove himself as being one of the best. He was the first from Monroe [Annotator's Note: Monroe, Louisiana] to be accepted into the paratroops. The event was covered by a newspaper article. He was accepted on 19 February 1942, his 18th birthday.

Theodore Finkbeiner processed through induction at Camp Beauregard [Annotator's Note: in Pineville, Louisiana] then shipped out to Camp Wolters [Annotator's Note: in Mineral Wells, Texas] for basic training. He took a rough train ride through his hometown of Monroe, Louisiana, without stopping on the way to Fort Benning, Georgia for paratrooper training. His parents and girlfriend supported his decision to join the Army. His relationship with that girlfriend did not stand the test of time. Finkbeiner's paratrooper training was rough. The temperature was hot and tent life was not comfortable. The first jump was not too bad. It was enjoyable floating down as long as he did not hit the ground too hard. Finkbeiner scored well on the rifle range and was issued a sniper rifle. He practiced on the range for two weeks with other sniper trainees. He felt that if he could see a target, he could hit it. After paratrooper qualification, he went to Fort Bragg to learn tactics, signals, weapons, and to continue physical endurance marches. The men from the North were teased by the Southerners when it came to living in the open. They were much better at close order drill than roughing it. Finkbeiner was trained well. The trainers had not been in combat, but they prepared the men to the best of their ability. They trainees had to learn after deployment about how to run a patrol, and how when the unit stopped it was important to dig a hole and dig it deep. They learned to never shoot a gun standing if they could lay down. The shooter would be more likely to survive and his aim would be more accurate from a prone position. Finkbeiner deployed from the area of Cape Cod on the George Washington. It took three weeks to reach Casablanca in North Africa. The convoy zig-zagged [Annotator's Note: an naval anti-submarine maneuver] which extended the trip. There were few games or distractions on the long voyage. The rough seas got men sick and the food was awful.

Theodore Finkbeiner found North Africa to be a new world. It was a very poor lifestyle for the local inhabitants. The cost of killing a child was less than the replacement cost for a donkey. The people were different there. Young boys picked pockets. The locals were more afraid of bayonets than having a gun pointed at them. While taking a long train ride, the terrain was barren and empty but when the train stopped, people seemed to pop out of the ground in an attempt to sell fruit. It was miserable. The paratroopers trained a lot and made additional practice jumps. Finkbeiner was falsely accused of an infraction by a young lieutenant. The officer made Finkbeiner pay by running him double time in the hot sun. When the captain heard about it, he transferred the lieutenant. There was time for some dangerous fun. One man drank too much bathtub gin and threw hand grenades around causing everyone to jump into their foxholes. It was not the only instance of grenade scare tactics. Finkbeiner went into town and ate something prepared there and got terribly sick from it while on a practice mission. Extensive planning was done for the paratrooper's next operation which was the invasion of Sicily.

Theodore Finkbeiner jumped into Sicily on the first night of the invasion [Annotator's Note: 9 July 1943]. His plane had experienced antiaircraft fire so paratroopers were scattered as they landed. He did manage to join several other men and advance on a location that appeared to be an enemy position. Their khaki uniforms were similar to that worn by the Americans. The paras slowly moved forward. A firefight ensued and several Germans were killed and wounded. The rest fled over the hill. The Germans returned in force and the Americans were forced to flee in a truck. Gunfire was exchanged and the truck ran off the road. Hot water from the punctured radiator flowed against Finkbeiner's leg. The worse part was when the truck left the road, Finkbeiner landed against a cactus bush. The German prisoner who had been captured previously was set free after Finkbeiner took his watch. The Americans kept heading toward the fighting which they interpreted as being Gela. En route, they found a member of the unit who was wounded. They carried him for miles before leaving him with friendly locals. The man, Peter Firing [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling], was captured but eventually returned six months later to the outfit. It took time and additional combat, including an ambush, before Finkbeiner met up with his company [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division]. There was always worry of German tanks hitting them but the terrain was too steep for armor to climb. After regrouping with his company and being supported by American tanks, Finkbeiner took part in patrols and scouting missions along the Sicilian coastline. There were small firefights but no major battles. He looked at the potential ambush scenarios and always confirmed a passage out if the Americans were overwhelmed. It was almost like guerilla warfare. Finkbeiner had a good souvenir in his barracks bag, but it was lost when the Liberty ship carrying it was sunk. The souvenir was a brass knuckle trench knife with a .30 caliber round stuck in it. He participated in a battle with a unit of the Hermann Göring Division. The Germans were hit hard as they took a rest in front of the well-placed Americans. During the action, Finkbeiner was armed with his sniper rifle. He had previously had his finger cut while fighting hand to hand with a bayonet wielding German. Finkbeiner's buddy shot the enemy and ended the fight. During the scouting and patrol missions along the Sicilian coastline, Finkbeiner observed well positioned pillboxes. The Italians would have played havoc on any assault in front of them. Finkbeiner and other troops tried to blow up ammunition dumps but did not succeed. They were lucky. They may have blown themselves up in the process. [Annotator's Note: Finkbeiner laughs.] It was the first combat for his unit, and the men were learning as they went along. The paratroopers stayed in Sicily and practiced amphibious landings from LCIs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Infantry]. That was the way Finkbeiner entered Salerno.

Theodore Finkbeiner [Annotator's Note: as a member of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] entered Salerno after the first landings. The regiment marched up a mountain and assumed positions for a month or so. He was first carrying a BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle] but, after it was disabled, he carried an M1 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also knonw as the M1 Garand]. The Americans advanced to a mountain pass overlooking the Naples Valley. It was a good location for observing the bombers dropping their ordnance on Naples. When the troops entered Naples, there was only minor resistance. Following that came the real slugfest when crossing mountains or rivers. Finkbeiner was often sent on patrols to locate the enemy. Once they were found, the Americans attempted to outflank them and set up an ambush. The Germans would discover what was going on and move to avoid being caught. There were few major firefights. It was mainly small patrols and constant maneuvering. Both sides tried to infiltrate the enemy's lines at night. Nervous sentries would fire at night. Most of the time, there was nothing to fire at. After a period of time, the regiment was withdrawn and sent to Anzio. While offloading, an adjacent company was hit by a dive bomber. There were people already ashore at that time. The opposition on the beach was non-existent. The Germans had set many booby traps around Salerno. A friend had learned demolition and offered to go with Finkbeiner on patrol. The commanding officer said he did not want to lose that man. [Annotator's Note: Finkbeiner laughs at the irony.] There were "Bouncing Betty" mines [Annotator's Note: German S-mine] and one man was killed. The regiment was the first to go up Hill 1017. An Italian told them that the Germans had evacuated. There was an outpost there. It had to be overwhelmed. Finkbeiner captured a German automatic sniper weapon that looked like a sporting rifle with a nice scope. It was taken from him by the Ordnance Department. He slept in a shallow foxhole on the hill top that night. It was difficult to dig deeper in the rocky soil. The Germans fired artillery at the Americans that night. It was fortunate that Finkbeiner had even a shallow foxhole for protection. The next day, Finkbeiner was able to take out an enemy motorcycle rider from 1,100 to 1,200 yards away. It was Finkbeiner's best shot with his M1 rifle. He took the German dispatch case and turned it over to command. His reputation for being a good marksman gained attention company-wide after the incident. Finkbeiner mainly was sent on scouting patrols looking for the enemy during this period. During the holiday period that year [Annotator's Note: 1943], the squad was pulled off the mountain and positioned in an orchard. They had a good vantage point to watch a dogfight overhead. One of the planes dove on the troops and dropped a bomb on some of the Americans. Things happened fast with the dive bombers. It was terrifying when they did not have time to get to a foxhole. No big frontal attacks happened before the squad was pulled off the line and prepared for the Anzio operation. The goal was to cut-off the Germans but the opposite happened. The Americans advanced up the Mussolini Canal with shore bombardment provided by the Navy. Finkbeiner found himself in a shell hole on the flank of a German position. He managed to take several of them out before being shot. He was hit on his pocket just away from his Bible. Finkbeiner was bandaged by a buddy and then walked to an aid station. The bullet had glanced down along his ribs. The stock of his Tommy Gun [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun] had been shattered by the enemy fire. His hospital stay was brief because there were too many casualties on the line. Anyone who could walk was expected to go back up. He could not carry a pack but could carry a rifle and went forward. He had the Thompson because he was made acting squad leader before being shot. When he returned, he was issued an M1 like he had previously carried.

Theodore Finkbeiner returned to his squad [Annotator's Note: in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] after being wounded. The troops who were armed with carbines noticed that it took multiple shots to bring down an advancing enemy soldier. Seeing that, no one wanted a carbine. The front at Anzio was largely stationary except for patrols until the Americans broke through the German positions. Even then, little movement occurred. The terrain at Anzio was mainly flat so movement was difficult. Rations were monotonous. The men killed a cow for the meat, but it was difficult to butcher it with their jump knives. The regiment was pulled back from the front and sent to England for additional training. Finkbeiner managed to get to London on a pass. Afterward, he became the company coordinator for parties. He found a girlfriend in the process. He was fortunate that two English boys returned his lost wallet. The wallet had the equivalent of 8,000 dollars in English pounds that belonged to his unit in the 82nd Airborne Association. Finkbeiner enjoyed his time in England. Two members of Finkbeiner's company served as pathfinders in the Normandy invasion but returned to their unit afterward. The next operation was the Holland assault [Annotator's Note: Operation Market-Garden].

Theodore Finkbeiner and his fellow paratroopers were told they were going to jump into Holland with the goal of capturing and holding the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen. He landed in a beet field and managed to eat a couple before removing his parachute. The bridge at Grave was very lightly defended and easily captured. Antiaircraft fire was light but one transport was lost with most of the men getting out in time. A fighter strafed the German position that had fired on the American plane and put it out of commission. Overall, it was a good drop and went close to plan. The Dutch people he encountered were good people. They provided information to the American paratroopers in an effort to aid them. [Annotator's Note: A brief interlude in the interview results in a light-hearted discussion on alcoholic beverages.] After capturing the Grave bridge, the paratroopers were marched up to where the boats were. [Annotator's Note: The Waal River had to be crossed using canvas assault boats.] The paratroopers were not thrilled with the idea. The river ran swiftly and the boats were flimsy. Tanks were to provide covering fire for the crossing. While crossing, Finkbeiner witnessed his comrade have his head blown off. That made him decide to take cover behind those in front so he would not get his head blown off. He was in the first wave of boats. When they hit the bank, most of the fire was coming from the bridge. There was a battle at a fort and Finkbeiner found a German camera there. He kept it. As he approached the bridge, he came upon a machine gun position. When Finkbeiner stared a German in the face, they both were surprised. Hand grenades were tossed back and forth with Finkbeiner finally overwhelming the German gunners. Finkbeiner made sure not to hold any grenade too long. He wanted to be certain the explosion occurred on the enemy side and not his. [Annotator's Note: Finkbeiner chuckles.] When the Germans counterattacked, Finkbeiner and his group took them out. When his M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also knonw as the M1 Garand] fired its last round, the empty clip made the pinging sound as it ejected. Concerned that he would have to fight with his rifle butt, Finkbeiner scrambled to insert a new clip in his rifle. A corporal with a Tommy gun [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun] was accompanying Finkbeiner. The corporal positioned himself behind Finkbeiner in case the Germans advanced prior to the M1 being ready to fire. The opposing sides were lined up and heads would pop up and fire at the enemy and then take duck and take cover. That went on for a while. When Finkbeiner heard orders being given in German, he thought the two Americans would be charged by a group of Germans. He and the corporal pulled back and ran down a ditch. He saw a fellow paratrooper quickly bleed to death as he withdrew. When a German machine gun position had its crew wave a white flag, Finkbeiner's corporal wanted to advance toward them. Finkbeiner told him that if they really want to surrender, he would motion them to come out to them. Otherwise, the enemy might shoot the unsuspecting American. It was better not to expose yourself to anyone attempting to surrender. His buddy was cut down later. As the Americans got closer to their bridge objective, they heard tanks firing. Enemy troops were retreating from the bridge and running right into the American positions. It was easy picking the enemy off using his M1. More Americans gathered together and got organized as they neared the bridge. When the river was crossed, most of the enemy fire was 20mm and automatic weapons from the railroad bridge. Bullets were hitting all around. Only the man next to Finkbeiner was hit. Most boats had the same situation. The smoke screen was ineffective. The paratroopers thought they would have a chance to organize after landing on the opposite side of the river. They did not anticipate the heavy fire from the railroad bridge. They did not question what was expected of them. It was a do or die situation.

Theodore Finkbeiner and his outfit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] took the bridge [Annotator's Note: the Nijmegen bridge]. Resistance continued as they moved away from the bridge. The British relieved them but as the paratroopers retreated they were fired on by the Germans. It was bitter for the Americans. The British held back from advancing on Arnhem. They might have been forced back, but they should have attempted to relieve the British and Polish paratroopers at Arnhem. It was aggravating to see those troops hung out to dry. Finkbeiner and his unit were pulled back to a defensive position on the Waal River. He was on an outpost on the river bank. He went out on patrols. When artillery was called for, only three rounds would be fired. Ammunition ran low. Finkbeiner sustained a mortar hit on the side of his head during this time. He had a brief hospital stay but did not have much trouble with the fragment from the mortar round. He was anxious to return to his unit. Patrols continued and then the unit advanced to the [Annotator's Note: inaudible] woods. He captured a German officer while on a patrol. The prisoner had a patch from the 82nd Airborne in his pocket. The German probably received rough treatment when he was turned over to the interrogation officers. The platoon was sent out the next night to take the house where the officer had been captured. Finkbeiner's M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also knonw as the M1 Garand] had a grenade launcher attached when a German popped up. He could not fire on the enemy so he decided to remove the launcher from his rifle. Finkbeiner always had sufficient M1 ammunition. He doubled up on the amount he carried. Instead of two bandoliers, he carried four. He did the same with his BAR assistant [Annotator's Note: a BAR, or Browning Automatic Rifle, infantryman had an assistant to carry additional ammunition for his weapon]. Ammunition was also gathered from the wounded or dead. Sufficient rifle oil became a problem at times. Attacking the house under heavy fire, the unit managed to take the building. The Germans counterattacked the next day. It was fierce fighting. His sergeant was killed during the action. When he saw some Germans attacking, Finkbeiner cut them down. He observed some Americans who had been captured and were being held by German sentries. Finkbeiner shot the sentries and the Americans fled. When he reached the CP, command post, and asked for orders, he was told to get back to the front as best he could. He managed to do so. Patrols continued, but there were not any major attacks. Shortly thereafter, Finkbeiner was pulled out of Holland and sent home to Monroe, Louisiana for a 30 day leave.

Theodore Finkbeiner returned to Europe after being on leave. He carried bottles of whiskey with him to provide to his buddies. They had been transferred to France but those he shared the whiskey with loved the liquor from the United States. [Annotator’s Note: Finkbeiner laughs.] Finkbeiner was not used to drinking hard liquor and got sick when he did so in excess. En route to Europe, he broke his ankle and had to recover in a hospital. Every time he went to a replacement depot, he would be assigned as sergeant of the guard. He complained about having ear problems and was sent back to his unit [Annotator’s Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division]. He never saw combat after that. The Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] was over. He returned home because he had sufficient points. Some men had to retrain to invade Japan. Some of the outfit made it to Berlin. [Annotator's Note: Another veteran sitting in on the interview recounts his experiences on camera for a brief time.] Finkbeiner met General Ridgway [Annotator's Note: US Army General Matthew Ridgway] at Fort Bragg. Finkbeiner was discharged in September [Annotator's Note: September 1945]. He then served in the Air Force Reserves for a time. [Annotator's Note: After a brief delay in the interview, Finkbeiner describes a display of his military decorations and patches from his time with the 82nd Airborne Division]. He was discharged as a platoon guide. He had gone up in a plane 25 times before he finally came down in one.