Veteran Spotlight
Paul Metzger - January 13, 1923 WWII: 71st Infantry Division, U.S. Army
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Paul Metzger was drafted from Dickerson, North Dakota when he was 21 years old. His parents had to move off the farm, and “that was it.” With no more farm worker deferment, he had to go. His folks didn’t express much – it was WWII and everybody was going.
After being inducted at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Paul went to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Little Rock, Arkansas for most of his basic training. He also went to Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia for infantry training.
The army needed medics and he and three other guys who were “sick of rifles” decided to trade them in for helmets with red crosses. As it turned out they did carry rifles anyway because the Germans aimed for those crosses. His next stop was Camp Kilmer, New Jersey which served as a staging area for soldiers going to Europe.
Paul’s outfit was supposed to go to Southhampton, England, but instead the ship was diverted to Le Havre, France. They set up there and he soon saw his first action on the Maginot Line, opposite the German Siegfried Line.
The 71st division met with the Russians in Austria in May, 1945, and as they freed the Gunskirchen Lager concentration camp, the war in Europe ended. Paul doesn’t dwell on those horrible memories. He saw some friends killed and still sometimes reacts when loud noises in the house surprise him, or the bed feels like it’s shaking. Sometimes the wind brings back memories. Paul says today it would be called PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but there was no name for it back then.
After two years, Paul was discharged at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin as a Tech Sgt. He and some other soldiers went to a hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota “to see how the rest of the world lived.” When he headed home and got off the bus at Hebron, North Dakota there were no parades or fire trucks. He called his dad for a ride and then went to see his future wife, Ann. They were married in June -- Paul calls it “reenlistment.” Paul had traveled to Ronan when he was 17, visiting his brother who was working on a dam. He and Ann came back to Ronan on their honeymoon, and stayed to set up their new home.
Paul’s group of four medics kept in touch for a while, but the other three are all gone now. Paul especially remembers a true friend, Ross.
Thinking back on military service, Paul quoted an anonymous source, “I wouldn’t give a penny to do it again, but wouldn’t take a million dollars for it.” He continued, “It makes a man out of a kid. You develop a knack for getting along with all sorts of people. You learn to live with people you don’t like very much. You can make a success of it if you work at it. You have to apply yourself.”
Thank you for your service, Paul.
