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0201-W2M-12/2004
Charles T. Brecht, Sergeant
U. S. Army
Dates of Service: 03/29/1943 - 01/12/1946
Machine gun Squad Leader, 2nd Armored Division
http://www.oralhistory.ws/tpl/norton_audio.php?file=6f878f312d406268c43360df63aca4b00baacd2f.mp3
This Pennsylvania native went ashore at Normandy in the afternoon of D-Day and fought his way into Germany as a sergeant and squad leader in the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. December of 1944 found him cold and hungry, surviving mainly on K-rations. Christmas came and went as just another day in the war. Only death or a wound bad enough for medical attention would get a soldier off the front line. Tommy, as Brecht was called, and a buddy named Mike considered taking matters into their own hands.