U.S. Army 1943–1945

 

Robert Pils had just turned 18 in 1943 when his draft board contacted him and he joined the Army to follow his father’s service in World War I. Trained at a medical training camp in Illinois, Pils was sent to Naples to be a company aid man in the 3rd Infantry Division. Wounded at Anzio, he was sent to various hospitals before being discharged in 1945. He talks about his son, David, who was in the Army for 24 years, including a stint in special forces.

 

Louis Pils, Robert’s father, a veteran of WWI

 

Robert Pils and some foreign currency

 

The German cannon known as “Anzio Annie”

 

David Pils, Robert’s son