William V. Cross was born in September 1922 in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up with one brother and a family that moved frequently because of his father’s civil engineer job. His father served in World War 1 [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918], but his whole unit contracted influenza and he did not have to go into combat. He does not recall a lot of discussion about the tensions in Europe and Japan. Cross joined the ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] at Purdue University [Annotator’s Note: in West Lafayette, Indiana] while studying industrial engineering. He funded his college education by working in a steel mill. After the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he and his friends went down to enlist in the service. His family was not greatly affected by the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], but at times they were limited to what they could eat. Cross and his friend applied for OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school] to be in the armored forces. They were both accepted into the program and trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Cross chose the Army because that is all he knew and he felt comfortable in that branch. He met his wife while he was training at Fort Knox. They decided to get married. He graduated from OCS one Saturday afternoon and then drove to Purdue and married his wife at her sorority house. The next morning, she graduated from college. Not long after, Cross was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia to complete infantry training. He then joined the 65th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and went overseas. While in OCS, he learned the basics of military life and how to shoot weapons. Cross wanted to go overseas because that is what he trained for. He and his friends joined around the same time and had similar paths. He did not have any animosity towards the German people, but did not care for the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization]. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer pauses interview at 0:15:38.000.]

William V. Cross [Annotator’s Note: with the 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division] made passage to France on a 10-day convoy. There was a storm, and many soldiers were seasick. Surrounding his ship were tankers that all sudden blew up in flames. The captain made an announcement that they would be hit next by a torpedo. The captain was indeed right. A torpedo hit his ship, but it was a dud. Another 15 minutes went by and they were not attacked again. The captain assumed that the U-boat [Annotator's Note: German submarine] was out of ammunition and left. All Cross could do at that moment was thank God for this miracle. This was the only attack they had during their passage and the ship docked at La Havre, France, where they camped at Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France]. He remarked that the camp was not expecting his unit but because Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] wanted the 65th Infantry Division in France as soon as possible, they were taken to La Havre. Cross said that the camp was muddy and had to share a tent with seven other soldiers. They did not have any of their equipment or food service. They often went to town, even though they were not allowed to trade cigarettes for food with the locals. After a long wait, his unit finally set out through France, and towards Luxembourg and then crossed the Saar River into Germany. They met a German defense at the Siegfried line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s]. Cross’ unit took over a bridge and had a hand-to-hand combat with the Germans in their pill boxes. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings at 0:24:19.000 an video break at 0:24:22.000.] Cross at the time was listed missing in action because an 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] hit his jeep that he had left 15 seconds prior.

William V. Cross [Annotator’s Note: with the 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division] crossed into Germany fighting house-to-house combat against the Germans. This mission was tough because he saw the faces of who he was going to kill. The death was costly, but the Americans won out. Once during combat a bullet hit his helmet and went through the back, but he was not wounded. He considered it a miracle. Cross was promoted to first lieutenant and executive officer after his unit crossed the Rhine River. He was 22 years old at the time. His unit then crossed the Danube River where he witnessed another miracle. He knew that when his unit crossed at two o’clock in the morning, the Germans would fire upon them with machine guns. He tried to explain this to his company superior, but these were the orders which his unit was given. Luckily, a lieutenant showed up and told him that he would cover his unit as it crossed the river, which he did. Everyone in the battalion got across the river without any casualties. Cross took a nearby town and captured some Hitler Youth [Annotator's Note: a youth organization of the Nazi Party for young men]. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer pauses interview at 0:44:40.000.] To this day, he believes the lieutenant that covered him saved his life and he wish he knew who he was.

William V. Cross [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division] crossed the Danube River. The division crossed the Danube southwest of Regensburg despite strong opposition, especially against the 261st [Annotator’s Note: on 26 April 1945]. His unit captured some Hitler Youth [Annotator's Note: a youth organization of the Nazi Party for young men]. The 261st reached across Enns River and overran Enns and moved into Austria. His unit captured a general and an admiral while in Austria. Cross was given orders to take them to regimental headquarters. On the way, his jeep came under attack by Germans. Cross got out of the jeep and climbed a hill and positioned himself behind two German machine gun positions. He knocked them out and headed back to the road to get his driver. Cross and the driver escaped with the general and admiral before more Germans came after them. They reached the headquarters and turned the German commanders in for interrogation. Cross’ unit remained at Linz [Annotator’s Note: Linz, Austria] and the division closed the Enns River in early May and contacted the advancing Soviet Army in the vicinity of Sternberg [Annotator’s Note: Sternberg, Germany] on 8 May 1945, as hostilities ceased. Many of the Germans had surrendered to the United States Army because they did not want to be captured by the Soviet Union. [Annotator’s Note: Screen black out at 0:55:42.000.] His unit captured and liberated Mauthausen Concentration Camp [Annotator’s Note: Mauthausen, Austria]. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings at 0:58:44.000.] Cross described the camp and the condition of the prisoners. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings at 1:05:23.000.]

William V. Cross [Annotator’s Note: with the 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division] went through Dachau Concentration Camp [Annotator's Note: Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany] after it was liberated. At the end of the war, his unit processed prisoners and identified the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization]. Cross stayed in Austria for another year and a half before he returned home. He remarked about the 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] and how powerful those guns were against the Allies. He spoke about one miracle where an 88 landed right behind him and knocked him out. When he woke up, he was lying in an aid station while the medics pulled shrapnel out of his back. Fortunately, the pieces were small and easily removed. He considered it a miracle that he survived.

After the war ended in Europe [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], William V. Cross [Annotator’s Note: with the 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division] stayed for another year and a half in Austria where he processed prisoners and identified SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization]. He also oversaw the local townspeople and made them aware of the concentration camps. Overall, the local people were stunned by what they saw and did not fully know what was going on behind the walls. Cross did not really celebrate VE-Day because they did not have any liquor around them. When he returned to the United Sates, he attended school to finish his degree. He and his wife rented a room in a house. His wife worked for the university, and he worked at a grocery store. He used 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 pay for his tuition. He was given the option to remain in Germany and receive a promotion, but he wanted to return to the United States and was determined to finish school. Cross did, however, stay on in the Reserves. Cross lost more men due to trench foot [Annotator's Note: immersion foot syndrome] than any other reason throughout the war in Europe. He made his men change their socks every night. Cross graduated with an industrial engineer degree and worked in sales at a chemical company.

William V. Cross did not suffer from post-traumatic stress [Annotator's Note: post traumatic stress disorder; a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event either experienced or witnessed] after the war. He has many memorable experiences of World War 2. One of the sad memories was when he had to find pieces of his jeep and driver after an 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] hit it. The concentration camp [Annotator's Note: Mauthausen concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria] also impacted him. He fought because every young man of his time was called to war to protect the United States. It was his generation’s job at the time. He was loyal to his country. World War 2 showed Cross that he could be responsible, follow orders, and push his limits. He is very disappointed in America today because we lost so many freedoms since World War 2. He does not like that Chaplains cannot do their jobs for the service men. He is sorry that young people do not know the history of our country, and professors teach a skewed interpretation. Cross believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He travels to schools and talks to students about his World War 2 experiences.

William V. Cross [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Infantry Division] was in Europe at Christmas time [Annotator’s Note: of 1944]. There were no celebration plans for the troops, so Cross decided to go on a search to find alcohol for his men to drink and celebrate the holiday. It became a difficult mission. He eventually found someone that gave him bottles of cognac for money and cigars. When he returned, Cross was a hero to his troops for bringing some libations. [Annotator’s Note: Video black out at 1:53:51 – 1:54:03.] Cross spoke of a time where he looked for a nice open area for his men to rest. As he drove back to his company on a narrow road, he heard German tank engines. Cross and his driver hid from them. The German tanks stop to rest at the open area, so Cross captured them. He was then captured himself, but somehow was able to exchange his troop prisoners with the other German prisoners.