William Kahn was born in August 1925, to immigrant parents. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland where his father ran a successful grocery store in an integrated neighborhood. The family lived above the store. Although Kahn's family did not have to struggle during the Great Depression years, he remembers much of his childhood working at his family's store with very few memories of leisure. Kahn was in high school at the time of Pearl Harbor. He remembers not really knowing what was going on, but something very significant and life changing had just happened. Soon as the war began, his father began to process ration stamps at the store for his customers. After Kahn graduated in 1943, he knew college was not an option prior to enlisting in the Army.

To his family's dismay, William Kahn enlisted at age 17. He forged his father's signature at the enlistment station. After his 18th birthday the Army sent him a notice to report to Fort Meade, Maryland where he was then transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training. Kahn remembers how the discipline was a major change from civilian life to military life. The Army selected Kahn to be part of a unique experiment called the Army Specialized Training Program, or ASTP. The program was composed of 18 and 19 year old men with an above adequate IQ, good physicality, and received a recommendation from their high school. Kahn remembers that the ASTP picked the school and skill for each soldier in the program to pursue and pass. When the program was disbanded in December 1944, Kahn was absorbed into the 94th infantry Division at Camp McCain, Mississippi where he was trained in field techniques. Kahn was sent to England, via New York City, on the Queen Elizabeth. Kahn recalls the trip as a horrible experience. The soldiers had to eat disgusting food while standing up, wait in line for hours to use the bathroom, and slept in tiers. He resented the officers because they were treated as first class, while the enlisted were treated as steerage. Kahn did not think much of his comrades. He thought of many of them as hillbillies, and did not have much in common with them. He tended to go his own way.

While William Kahn was overseas, his platoon trained constantly. [Annotator's Note: The interview is interrupted briefly by a telephone ringing.] Although not much information was given to him, Kahn knew that he was going to France. He mentioned that he had very little contact with this family at home during his deployment. Kahn does not recall what he was doing on 6 June 1944 [Annotator's Note: the date of the Allaied invasion of Normandy, France] but thought it was fantastic after reading about it. Kahn believes he landed on Omaha beach. He entered the beach by way of a truck that carried all his platoon's equipment. Kahn and his comrades were immediately sent to Brittany, France to contain the Germans in their garrisons in Lorient and Saint Nazaire. Kahn received a Bronze Star for clearing a minefield in a valley during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge, or the Ardennes Counter-Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Kahn recounts the sporadic fire in his direction by the Germans but he never was wounded. He successfully gave clearance that the valley was safe for the infantry to pass through. No one was hurt. During the Battle of the Bulge, he recounts being on guard duty, keeping alert for Germans posing as Americans, digging in the cold, wet, mud constantly, always feeling hungry, and having the fear of being seriously injured or killed. Kahn had very little interaction with his comrades because he was part of the demolition platoon. Their responsibilities were to blow up mines, fortifications, and bridges, often using dynamite. He developed trench foot during the Battle of the Bulge and was sent to the hospital for treatment. He returned to the 301st Infantry [Annotator's Note: 301st Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division] after his recovery only to find that most of them had perished or been taken prisoner.

After the Battle of the Bulge, William Kahn's platoon continued through the Hurtgen Forest, but saw no action. They came to the Rhine, crossed it and then made their way into Germany. Their last major combat action was in the town of Dusseldorf where Kahn was hit with shrapnel. He recalls lying in a house, and although he was told to dig, he refused. Soon the house was hit by artillery fire and Kahn was wounded. A medic patched him up, and Kahn walked out of the house on his own. He had a moment in the town of Dusseldorf while observing the rubble of once a live city. He thanked God it was not America. As they moved from Sulingen into the Sudetenland they eventually became peacetime soldiers. Kahn cannot recount how he heard the war was over, but not much changed as far as his duties. He was still required to be on guard duty, and still had to be disciplined. He did not enjoy going to the parades or the Hollywood star performances because they were always 30 to 50 miles away. Kahn returned home by ship and debarked from the New York City port. He enjoyed peacetime, not having to follow Army discipline, and not being shot by the enemy. His family was happy to have him home, although they did not show much affection.

After the war, William Kahn attended college at the University of Maryland through the G.I. Bill. He worked briefly as an engineer for the U.S. government. He thought his job was extremely boring and with support from a colleague, Kahn quit his government job and went to work for a scrap/recycling company for 26 years. He enjoyed his work because he could work independently and had his own workflow. As Kahn reflects on World War 2, he does not recount any religion. He never saw a priest or a rabbi. He also never received any anti-semetic remarks from anyone. He has very few civilian experiences and mostly followed orders. He can only recall one night getting intoxicated and the Military Police made him sleep it off at a local YMCA before returning to camp. Kahn thinks it's important for kids to know that war is terrible. Kahn remembers how he didn't touch water for months during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or Ardennes Counter-Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], before he was able to finally shower in the streets of a Belgian town. Kahn cannot remark on the effects of PTSD [Annotator's Note: post traumatic stress disorder] because he never suffered from the condition. He also recollects that he never knew of the concentration camps while he was overseas. He also believes that it is important to have The National WWII Museum, so the memory is not lost. He believes that Americans should support their country, stand up for their country, take duties as they come, achieve their goals, and go from there.