Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Audio Recording Dean Milton Weissert Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 33rd Infantry Division; 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/39436
Drafted October 16th, 1941, Army Staff Sergeant Dean Weissert became part of a communications platoon: specifically, as wire chief, his role was to lay telephone wire. On D-Day, this meant "jumping from tree to tree" while dodging German snipers; by the end of the day, he says, "I don't think we got more than a mile from the beach." In his interview, he discusses the perils of laying wire at night, being so worn out that he would sleep through the shelling adjacent to his foxhole, and his interactions with German civilians. Coming from a German-American family, he felt conflicted: while killing the enemy would help to end the war, he had a particular understanding of the German soldiers' inherent humanity.
Dean Milton Weissert Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayTraining for the invasion; increasing mileage of hikes; moving into a training camp 00:14:30.0 - 00:16:36.0
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PlayRestrictions during training period; what they wore and carried during the invasion 00:16:37.0 - 00:19:19.0
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PlayDeparting for Normandy; English Channel was full of ships; talking to soldiers who had made previous landings 00:19:20.0 - 00:23:49.0
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PlayBlunder made by his tank commander; landing; climbing a hill; observing the casualties 00:23:50.0 - 00:30:03.0
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PlayLaying wire while dodging bullets from snipers; pulling guard duty; effects of adrenaline; exhaustion; sleeping next to a dead German soldier in a foxhole 00:33:35.0 - 00:38:09.0
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PlayLaying wire at night and in the rain; living in a foxhole; lessons taught by veteran soldiers. 00:38:10.0 - 00:45:50.0
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PlayExtreme close call when laying wire 00:46:20.0 - 00:49:23.0
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PlayObserving German casualties 01:03:40.0 - 01:04:56.0
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PlayTaking six showers in 11 months of combat 01:05:03.0 - 01:07:01.0
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PlayComing from a German family and trying to make sense of German deaths 01:08:09.0 - 01:10:20.0
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PlayObserving a German soldier kill German civilians 01:11:30.0 - 01:15:54.0
About this Item
Title
- Dean Milton Weissert Collection
Names
- U.S. Senate/Chuck Hagel
- Malcom, Brooke A.
- Weissert, Dean Milton
- Hagel, Chuck
Home State
- Nebraska
Headings
- - Weissert, Dean Milton
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- White
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 33rd Infantry Division; 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1941-1945
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran served with telecommunications placing wirelines through combat areas.
Materials
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-09-11)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2005-09-11)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/39436
Cite as
- Dean Milton Weissert Collection (AFC/2001/001/39436), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- online text
Additional Metadata Formats
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Camp Carson, Colorado
- Camp Forrest, Tennessee
- Camp Shanks, New York
- Czechoslovakia
- England
- European Theater
- Fort Crook, Omaha
- Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
- Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
- Fort Sill, Oklahoma
- France
- Germany
- Scotland