The Library of Congress Veterans History Project Home 
Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project
Home » Joseph M. Halicek
 

"We said, if we're living tomorrow, we're gonna go up there and pray." (Interview)

   Joseph M. Halicek
Image of Joseph M. Halicek
Joseph Halicek [detail]
War: World War II, 1939-1946
Branch: Army
Unit: 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Division
Service Location: Camp Wolters, Texas; Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky; England; Normandy, France; Ardennes, Belgium; Germany; Czechoslovakia
Highest Rank: Sergeant
Place of Birth: Genoa, OH
View Full Description

Infantryman Joseph Halicek didn't land on Utah Beach until well after the original invasion, but he saw plenty of evidence remaining of those first few horrible days. And he faced plenty of danger in the next few months, fighting desperate German troops. The son of Czech immigrants, he found his language skills were useful when his unit wound up in Czechoslovakia in the fall of 1945, in a standoff against Russian troops eager to continue occupying that country far beyond the end of the war.

Interview (Audio)
»Interview Highlights  (4 clips)
»Complete Interview  (66 min.)
»Transcript
  Photos
»Photo Album (1 photo)
More like this
»D-Day Plus
 Audio (Interview Excerpts) (4 items)
Put in charge when his sergeant breaks down. (04:35) Strafed by German planes. (01:12) The terror of first time combat. (01:17)
D-Day Plus 90 conditions. (02:22)  
  
 
Home » Joseph M. Halicek
 
  The Library of Congress
  May 29, 2007
Veterans History Project Home
Contact Us