William E. Byrnes was born in Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] in January 1926. His family moved around a lot during his childhood because of the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939]. His father lost his job until 1938. Byrnes played with his six siblings and the neighborhood kids during his early years. As a child, he did not realize the suffering and hardships his family and friends were going through. Byrnes' father served in World War 1. Byrnes was aware of the turmoil going on in Europe because he took German classes in high school. However, as the only non-German student in the class, he quickly fell behind and stopped taking the class. Byrnes was a Boy Scout [Annotator's Note: Boy Scouts of America, scouting and youth organization founded in 1910] as a kid and earned his Eagle Scout [Annotator's Note: highest achievement in the Boy Scouts of America], so he kept busy earning badges and meeting people. On 7 December 1941, Byrnes was sitting in the family kitchen when news of the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was announced over the radio. Although he wanted to enlist early, he was glad that he listened to his mother's advice and waited to be drafted as he feels this prevented him from facing certain death in the D-Day invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. After the outbreak of war, his family spent much time praying for family members who had been drafted into the service. Praying this novena really "brought them through." After he graduated from high school at the age of 17, he began working full time for Sears and Roebuck [Annotator's Note: Sears, Roebuck, and Company]. Byrnes followed the course of the war through radio broadcasts while he was at work. After his 18th birthday, Byrnes was drafted into the Army and inducted on the same day. He spent 21 days at home before reporting to Fort Sheridan [Annotator's Note: in Lake Forest, Illinois] and then went to Camp Wolters, Texas [Annotator's Note: in Mineral Wells, Texas] shortly after for basic training. The experience of leaving home was not shocking for the family because his older brother and countless cousins had since been drafted. It was expected and his family was used to seeing people leave.

William E. Byrnes took a train to Camp Wolters [Annotator's Note: in Mineral Wells, Texas] and it took forever. There was no air conditioning on the train, so it was hot and stuffy at times. Upon arrival at basic training, it became clear that many of the draftees would not make it out of the training program. There were a lot of older men in the group. He was in excellent physical shape because of his experiences and youth. Some of the draftees would were illiterate, some caused fights, and others did not bathe. After 17 weeks of basic training, he was transferred to Camp Van Dorn [Annotator's Note: in Amite and Wilkinson Counties, Mississippi] for advanced infantry training for the Pacific. He took part in squad problems in which they were tasked with taking bunkers and running an obstacle course under live fire. Byrnes stayed at Camp Van Dorn until he shipped out in November 1944. He was able to visit his family for a brief furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] before he shipped overseas. While in camp, the father of one of the squad members who worked for the railroad told them that they would soon be shipping out for the East Coast and to Europe. There was an incident where some civilians were trying to steal some of the military rifles. They eventually found the thief. He had experiences in Mississippi related to segregation. He did not understand much of the racial strife because of his Northern upbringing. While riding a bus, a black lady got up from her seat and offered it to him, which he declined. Byrnes was refused service at a restaurant while he was in town. Right before he was shipped to the Northeast, he was issued military equipment. He arrived in Camp Shanks [Annotator's Note: in Orangetown, New York] and boarded a converted Italian ocean liner for transport to Europe. His ship was part of a convoy. They spotted a few submarines on their voyage overseas. He was a member of I Company, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: Company I, 3rd Battalion, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division].

William E. Byrnes went overseas to Southern France. Sunken ships littered the harbor as the men debarked onto the shore and quickly onto box cars. The train trip took Byrnes' outfit [Annotator's Note: Company I, 3rd Battalion, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division] inland where they were attached to the 3rd French Division in preparation for combat in the Colmar Pocket [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Colmar Pocket, area in Alsace, France, 20 January to 9 February 1945]. Byrnes' first combat experience came in January 1945 when I and K Company [Annotator's Note: Company I and Company K, 3rd Battalion, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division] attacked up a hill towards the town of Jebsheim [Annotator's Note: Jebsheim, France]. To get into the town, the company passed through a densely mined [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive device triggered by physical contact] field where they took heavy casualties. From his position on the left flank, Byrnes carefully eased his way across the minefield when a man following his steps behind him tripped a mine and lost his foot. After crossing the field, the company, minus 17 casualties, dug in along a riverbank. He spent the night with fixed bayonets in anticipation of a German attack. The next morning, the engineers had come in and put out ropes to indicate where the mines were located. The minefield was a wakeup call for Byrnes as they continued to fight in deep snow. Because of the heavy casualties, Byrnes was promoted to sergeant. Upon entering Jebsheim [Annotator's Note: Jebsheim, France], the combat intensified as they fought in near hand-to-hand conditions. The Allied units thought they had captured the entire town but failed to realize the town was split in half and the Germans still occupied the opposite end of town. As they attacked into Jebsheim, they were accompanied by small, World War 1 era, French tanks. The tanks were loud, ineffective, and drew heavy enemy fire. He wished they were not there at all. His unit eventually was able to take the town of Jebsheim. He helped take some of the surrendered Germans. Despite being cold all the time, Byrnes did not take enemy overcoats as souvenirs as he feared being captured and executed on account of his stolen goods. German propaganda leaflets that were often dropped on them urging the Americans to surrender. As they began to accept the surrender of German soldiers, Byrnes began to wish he had taken more German classes in high school to better communicate with his captives. After the collapse of the Colmar Pocket the 3rd Battalion, 254th Regiment was trucked north to rejoin the rest of the outfit. Suffering with frostbitten feet, Byrnes was treated at a French hospital for two weeks and received winter clothing. Upon his release from the hospital, Byrnes rejoined his outfit after they had succeeded in taking the Siegfried Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s]. While waiting to rejoin I Company, Byrnes taught new replacements how to exist in a combat zone. Their general stood on top of a jeep and made a speech to the new GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also, a slang term for an American soldier] about how great it was for them to be joining the regiment.

William E. Byrnes rejoined his platoon [Annotator's Note: in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division]. They continued to take heavy losses as the German 17th SS Panzer Division [Annotator's Note: 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen"] retreated and put-up stiff resistance in doing so. He was worried that he may be the next to go. They began to accept the surrender of Germans by the thousands and passed them back to the rear echelon. He thought that many of the surrendered Germans he met seemed nice. They did not cause any problems, except for a few hard heads that did not want to give up. Some of the Americans were not very nice to the Germans. Some of the German soldiers were very young. One who was killed could not have been older than 16 years old. When the war ended, he celebrated VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] with his unit. He was happy and relieved, knowing he would be going home. He did not return home immediately because he did not have enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] and became a supply sergeant on occupation duty. He was pretty much on his own during this time. Every now and then there would be check points he would have to go through where they checked the supplies in his truck. After a year on occupation duty in towns across Germany, Byrnes had earned enough points to return home on 6 May 1946. He was discharged with the rank of staff sergeant.

William E. Byrnes did not have a difficult time readjusting to civilian life after he returned from World War 2. Though he did not take advantage of the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to attend college, he wishes he had. His most memorable experience of World War 2 was being on the front line in France. It was a horrible experience. He served because everyone he knew was fighting, including his brother and cousins. If you did not fight, people thought something was wrong with you. World War 2 made Byrnes want to settle down upon his release. Two years of constant moving and experiencing chaos prompted this desire. Some GIs would get drunk and start fights or do crazy things. His service allowed Byrnes to make many lifelong friends, whose loss he still feels today. Many young people today do not know anything about the war and therefore the war has little meaning to America today. It is important to continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because many men gave their lives preserving the freedom enjoyed in America today.