"Up at 7. Got letters from Johnny Draghi, Jack, Mother, and Jen. Also an Easter card
from Jen. Yesterday German planes bombed the rear command post hitting two fellows
in headquarters company. Washed up this morning and washed some socks." (Diary
entry, April 5, 1943, page 80)
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Ralph B. DeForest |
Ralph DeForest in uniform | World War II, 1939-1946
Army
A&P Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division
North Africa; Algeria; French Morocco; Tunisia; Sicily; Normandy, France; Belgium; Rhineland, Germany
Sergeant
Stamford, CT
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Ralph DeForest was in the Army infantry exactly four years to the day, from June 25,
1941 to June 25, 1945. He saw action in North Africa and Sicily, and he landed on
Normandy five days after D-Day. In Tunisia he saw the aftermath of the Battle of
Kasserine Pass and reported on subsequent action, mixing mundane chores with reports
of casualties in his outfit. DeForest kept a running diary of his experiences, but he was
asked not to turn it in when he was stationed in England prior to the Normandy invasion.
He stopped only for a few months and restarted on D-Day, June 6, 1944. His collection
also traces his career through clippings from his hometown paper in Stamford, CT.
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