Paul R. Diehl
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Interview conducted on 18 Oct. 2003 at St. Ann’s Home, Duluth, MN.
Corporal Paul R. Diehl entered Army July 1944 at Camp Robinson, Little Rock, AK. He was assigned to the 3rd Armour Division, 33rd Regiment. He eventually became the Company Clerk because he could type.
He boarded a ship in Aug 1944. He was told he would be getting lots of good food on ship – that was not true....
“We landed in Normandy, France at Omaha Beach, then went into Belgium as a “40 & 8” (40 men and eight horses). We captured Mons then Leige, Belgium. Then we went into Germany and breached the Sigfried Line. We were caught in the Stolberg Stalemate then went back into Belgium to fight the Battle of the Bulge.
“In February of 45 we went back into Germany, then captured Cologne in March. That is when our General, Maurice Rose, was killed. He was a great man – a real hero.
“During battle in Cologne, I and several others tried to visit the zoo, but Germans started sniping at us.
“After Gen. Rose was killed, I served in the 33rd under Col Lovelady (Taskforce Lovelady). In April we captured the Buzz Bomb factory in Nordhausen, liberated the Concentration Camp in Nordhausen and captured the city of Dessau. I witnessed both Buzz Bombs and Messerschmitt 109 jet planes, which we tried to shoot down (unsuccessfully) with our rifles. In May, Germany surrendered.
Diehl served the 3/33rd until outfit was deactivated, then went into the 100th Infantry.
“I fought in 3 major campaigns of the war: Battle of the Bulge, Central Europe, and Rhineland. The Infantry rode on top of the tanks into battle. The medium tanks the Division had were lousy for fighting, but great personnel carriers.”
