Walter Henry Barton was born on in Chicago, Illinois in June 1925. He lived in Chicago until being called to active duty in July 1943. Barton's parents separated when he was very young, so he was raised by his mother. His mother worked to support their small family. Barton was not a very good student. He was sent to Tilden Technical High School in Chicago which was a school for boys. He took a lot of mechanical classes. His freshman year he joined the school's JROTC [Annotator's Note: Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps] program and there found his calling. He excelled in the JROTC and this helped him later during his service in the Army. On Sunday, 7 December 1941, Barton was home playing cards and listening to the radio with his parents when the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] was announced. He was only 16 but knew that he would end up in the military at some point. One day in April 1943 Barton cut school and went into downtown Chicago. He visited every recruiting office until he found one that would take him. At the age of 17 he joined the Army to his mother's dismay.

At the age of 17, Walter Henry Barton dropped out of high school to join the Army. Since. He was called up three months later in July 1943 when he turned 18. Barton boarded a bus in Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] that took him to Battle Creek, Michigan. Barton was ready for an adventure. His life had little meaning before joining the Army and he was not doing anything productive at home. When he boarded the bus, he never thought once that he would not return home. At Battle Creek, Barton received a physical and took various aptitude tests. He scored well on the test and was soon informed that he was being placed in the ASTP [Annotator's Note: generally referred to just by the initials ASTP; a program designed to educate massive numbers of soldiers in technical fields such as engineering and foreign languages and to commission those individuals at a fairly rapid pace in order to fill the need for skilled junior officers] and was put on a train to California. When he arrived however, he was informed that the ASTP was being dissolved and he was sent to Camp Roberts [Annotator's Note: in Bradley, California] for 13 weeks of basic combat training. Barton saw his basic training simply as an upgrade to his JROTC [Annotator's Note: Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps] training from high school. After completing basic training in November 1943, Barton went to Camp Adair, Oregon where he joined the newly formed 91st Infantry Division. When he arrived at the train station in the middle of the night, it was raining. Barton was put in a truck with the rest of the recruits. As they stopped at different barracks, the NCO [Annotator's Note: non-commissioned officer] would order recruits to get off. This is how Barton was assigned to Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment. Barton's Cannon Company was there to provide additional heavy fire support for the rifle companies in the regiment. He had no training in heavy artillery prior to his assignment. His team did a great job and were successful in their missions. Barton began as a cannoneer. The gun sections were made up of a section chief (Annotator's Note: also a gun sergeant), gunner, number one man, number two man, number three man, and several cannoneers. The cannoneers carried and stacked ammunition, installed fuses, and hauled powder bags. Barton worked his way up to section sergeant by the end of the war. Barton and his cannon section trained in several different maneuvers. Barton remarked how he missed the famous 91 mile march of the 91 Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: in the Cascade Mountains, Oregon in September 1944. The General [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Charles Hunter Gerhardt] of the division wanted to show off how his infantry had great endurance and ordered them to march the 91 miles. Barton arrived at the camp just as they were returning from the march.

[Annotator's Note: Walter Henry Barton took part in intensive training from his arrival at Camp Adair, Oregon from October 1943 until March 1944 when his Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division prepared to deploy overseas.] In April, they boarded a train and headed across the country. When the train briefly stopped in Chicago, Barton could see his family home which was only three blocks away from the railyard, but he was not able to leave the train to visit. They only got off the train to exercise for a few moments then got back aboard and finished their trip to Newport News, Virginia. They stayed in some barracks for a few days and received new equipment and clothing. He also saw Red Cross ladies selling donuts. Barton's regiment boarded a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] for a 17 day voyage to Oran [Annotator's Note: Oran, Algeria], North Africa. Barton was seasick from the time he boarded the ship until he got off in Oran. During his voyage there was an enemy submarine in the waters, and all the soldiers were ordered to go on deck. After the alert was over, he returned to his bunk and stayed there until they reached Oran. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer shares a personal story at 0:35:23.000.] When Barton went overseas for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 1950 to 1953], he was sick for most of his voyage as well. He could not get off the ship fast enough. Barton's stay in Oran was not very long but remembers that the Arabs would often steal their equipment and clothing. They spent three or four weeks conducting amphibious training which consisted of them loading their short barreled 105 [Annotator's Note: M3 105mm howitzer] onto DUKWs [Annotator's Note: six-wheel-drive amphibious truck; also known as a Duck] and driving out to a transport ship lying offshore. Barton volunteered to box while in Oran, but it was short lived. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer shares a personal story at 0:41:40.000].

In May 1944, Walter Henry Barton's regiment [Annotator's Note: Barton was a member of Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division] was attached to the 36th Infantry Division. They boarded an English ship in North Africa and took the trip over to Anzio, Italy. During the voyage, he was served boiled potatoes and cockroaches. When they went ashore in Anzio, Barton's unit bivouacked in a marble school building for the night. They boarded their vehicles and buzzed straight though the area heading north. His company was moving so fast that they passed up the front lines and crossed over into German held territory. They quickly noticed their mistake and returned to their own lines. In the meantime, his unit captured 17 Germans. Barton's company was always set up several hundred yards behind the front lines. The guns were there to provide fire heavier than the 81mm mortars [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar] carried by the regiment's weapons companies. Being so far back Barton saw little combat although they did receive counter battery fire on occasion. Barton believes that he was lucky to have been assigned to his unit because he was faced with very little combat during his 18 months overseas. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to change tapes at 0:52:32.000.] Barton knew the family of his wife, Rose, before he went off to war but was not officially dating her. He went to the same high school as her brother, and the three of them would walk to school together. Their mothers also worked in the same factory. They began dating after he returned from World War 2. He went over to his Rose's family home for dinner and never left.

Walter Henry Barton’s job with his regiment [Annotator’s Note: Barton was a member of Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division] was to set up the gun [Annotator's Note: M3 105mm howitzer] in the direction ordered by his commanding officer and fire the canon when given the directive. He was not privy to any other information regarding the target he was firing at. His job was remedial, but necessary. He did not care much for the enemy. He only cared that more of the Americans made out alive through combat. He still hates the Japanese for what they did at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He remains in touch with three men from his company. In mid November 1944, Barton's regiment was fighting near Livergnano, Italy, an area the GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also, a slang term for an American soldier] referred to as the Liver and Onions. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings in the background at 1:02:02.000.] They had been under observation by the Germans for several days. At daybreak one snowy morning, trucks had just delivered ammunition to his gun post when they came under fire from German artillery. His gun took a direct hit. Barton and several others were wounded by the shell. He was also under direct fire from Italian partisans during his time in Italy.

In November 1944, during a battle in Italy, Walter Henry Barton was wounded by shell fire while manning a cannon. [Annotator's Note: Barton retrieves a book at 1:09:11.000 and shows pictures to the interviewer off camera.] Barton was escorted to the aid station by his First Sergeant. He had received small bits of shrapnel in his back shoulder. He was patched up and returned to his company [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division] early next morning. Although they had several wounded in his unit [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division], no one was killed. He was not allowed to touch his cannon because there was a projectile ready to fire, and they had to dismantle it. His unit eventually received a new cannon. As the war drew on, they transported their equipment through the mountains with trucks. They had pushed all the way to the border of Italy and Yugoslavia when word came down to cease all combat operations because the Germans had surrendered. As soon as they got the word that the war in Europe was over the men of cannon company transitioned from heavy gunners to military policemen. Barton would spend the next several months policing the Italian border. While on this duty, he was stationed in a convent with running water. During his tour in Italy, he received a hot meal regularly. He met two ladies that could speak English well and found out they attended school at the University of Chicago [Annotator's Note: in Chicago, Illinois].

Walter Henry Barton and his regiment [Annotator's Note: Cannon Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division] were policing the border of Italy and Yugoslavia when the war in Europe ended. At one point the Yugoslavian people tried to take over an Italian city using women soldiers. They had gathered at a church to protest. Someone from Barton's unit called in a tank. When the tank arrived, the women decided to disperse. In August 1945, Barton was given orders to return home by ship. Barton's division was one of those selected for transfer to the Pacific. The division would return to the United States and after a brief leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] would begin training for deployment to the Pacific. Barton was aboard ship heading home when the Japanese surrender was announced on the ship. There would be no redeployment to the Pacific Theater. Barton remained in the Army until December 1945 when he was discharged as a sergeant. He signed up for the Reserves. He later was redeployed for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 1950 to 1953]. He was in combat for six months and then was discharged from the Army. He bought a house using the G.I. Bill. Soon after he return home from World War 2, he got married. He took and passed the GED [Annotator's Note: General Education Degree]. Barton worked a number of jobs in factories and plants before finishing out his career with 20 years as a police officer.

Walter Henry Barton had no problem transferring from a soldier to a civilian. His most memorable experience from World War 2 was coming home practically unscathed. His message to future generations is to have patriotism. Barton does not think World War 2 changed his life. He would have done the same thing if he did not serve in the military, however he did receive numerous awards for his service. Barton fought because his country needed him. He believes he did his best and proud of his service. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to close a door at 1:46:07.000.] Barton believes it is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to teach about the war to future generations. It is important for the younger generations to fight more for the well-being of America and ignore other countries who believe America is greedy or bad. It is important for people to give back and take less.