A Milwaukee colonel writes home from Europe, 1943-45

About this record

When he wrote these six letters, Cleburne S. Bender was a colonel with the Wisconsin 32nd Red Arrow Division and commander of Battery C of the 126th Field Artillery. He was initially stationed in England until March 1944, when he was assigned as assistant G-3, Engineer Special Brigade Group to help plan the Normandy Invasion. He wrote these six letters to his wife in Milwaukee. They describe his feelings toward the Nazis, D-day, the sounds of combat, inspecting a POW camp, the cruelty of German soldiers, and attitudes of German POWs.  Additional letters (described here) exist in paper form in the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives.