The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Elmer Anderson. Anderson joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training in Mississippi and training as a medic in South Carolina. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 87th Infantry Division, supporting the headquarters company. At the Battle of the Bulge, he was stationed one mile behind the front lines. He passed the Buchenwald concentration camp but didn’t know how severe conditions were inside. Although Anderson witnessed the aftermath of horrific casualties, both civilian and military, he was not himself exposed to heavy combat. Rather, he often socialized with German soldiers. Anderson returned home at the end of the war and was discharged in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Elmer Anderson. Anderson joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training in Mississippi and training as a medic in South Carolina. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 87th Infantry Division, supporting the headquarters company. At the Battle of the Bulge, he was stationed one mile behind the front lines. He passed the Buchenwald concentration camp but didn’t know how severe conditions were inside. Although Anderson witnessed the aftermath of horrific casualties, both civilian and military, he was not himself exposed to heavy combat. Rather, he often socialized with German soldiers. Anderson returned home at the end of the war and was discharged in May 1946.