Arthur Levine was born in June 1922 in Saint Louis, Missouri with two younger half-brothers and one younger half-sister from his mother's second marriage. One of his brothers also served in World War 2, and his other brother worked as a police officer as a career. Levine grew up in a poor area of Saint Louis that consisted of various races and nationalities. Everyone was poor and happy during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. Levine worked several jobs to make a little money, including selling newspapers and slopping hogs. For fun, he visited the zoo, art museum, and memorial area that featured Charles Lindbergh [Annotator's Note: Charles Augustus Lindbergh, American aviator] trophies. Levine looked to Lindbergh as a hero until he found out that his hero sympathized with the Nazis. He graduated from high school at 16 years old. He moved in with an aunt because his stepfather was abusive to him. After the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Levine enlisted in the Army in 1942, however he and his friends first wanted to join the Merchant Marines. When they got to the recruitment center, Levine chickened out because he could not swim. Levine later would learn that his two friends drowned after an enemy submarine sunk their ship. Levine was sworn into the Army at Jefferson Barracks [Annotator's Note: Jefferson Barracks Military Post in Lemay, Missouri]. He was excited because he would get three meals a day and 50 dollars pay per month. He was sent to Camp Blanding, [Annotator's Note: in Clay County, Florida] for seventeen weeks of basic infantry training. Once he completed the training, he made PFC [Annotator's Note: Private First Class] and was asked to stay at Jefferson Barracks to help with the recruits. After a year working with recruits, he volunteered to attend jump school at Camp Benning [Annotator's Note: Fort Benning, Georgia] because he would be paid an additional 50 dollars more a month. Jump school consisted of running everywhere and jump practice. After completion, he was sent to radio and map reading school at Fort Meade [Annotator's Note: Fort George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County, Maryland]. He was then sent to Fort Dix [Annotator's Note: Fort Dix near Trenton, New Jersey] where he frequented New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] with his friends. He never had to pay for anything because he was in his Army uniform. He went to the Stage Door Canteen [Annotator's Note: in the Broadway theatre district, New York, New York] and danced with Susan Hayward [Annotator's Note: American actress and model]. He also dated Anna Massey [Annotator's Note: Anna Raymond Massey], who was the daughter of the actor, Raymond Massey [Annotator's Note: Raymond Hart Massey, Canadian actor]. Levine was in New York with his friends, and they stopped at a bar full of beautiful women. After they ordered a beer, the bartender told them to drink up and leave because it was a lesbian bar.

In March 1944, Arthur Levine received orders with a replacement group to deploy overseas to Europe. Boarded a ship and traveled in a zig zag [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] for two weeks across the Atlantic Ocean with a convoy. During the trip, there was one emergency, but the rest of the time, Levine played cards to pass the time. Levine disembarked at Liverpool [Annotator's Note: Liverpool, England] and boarded a truck that took him to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in Salisbury, England as a replacement. He was thrilled to wear the paratrooper patch. He continued to train with his company. On days off, he went to the pub and dated lots of girls. Levine witnessed the V1 rockets [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] over London [Annotator's Note: London, England]. He had a great admiration for the civilians because they were affected by the war so much and it did not deter them from continuing with their lives. As May [Annotator's Note: May 1944] and June [Annotator's Note: June 1944] came, Levine knew that he was about to go into combat because the military was actively prepping. On 5 June [Annotator's Note: 5 June 1944], he was ordered to board a C-47 [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft].

On 5 June [Annotator's Note: 5 June 1944], Arthur Levine [Annotator's Note: 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division] was ordered to board a plane. He was carrying 75 pounds of equipment on him, including a carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine], hand grenades, three days of K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals], bayonet, trenching tool, knives, and whatever else he could carry. Two squads fit in the plane. When the plane took off, it headed across the Channel [Annotator's Note: the English Channel]. They began getting anti-aircraft fire. When the plane reached its target, Levine and the rest of the paratroops make their jump at 1,100 feet. Levine landed on his feet and began to get his bearings of the landing and who was all around him. As all the troops gathered up with the commander, Levine, assigned as a runner for the company, was given orders to deliver a map to the next platoon. The map showed the location of where his company was going to invade the next morning, Saint Marie Du Mont [Annotator's Note: Saint Marie Du Mont, Normandy, France]. As he mades his way over, he ran into a German Lieutenant who tried to shoot him. Levine shot him first several times with his carbine. He called a medic and before they took the German away, Levine searched him and found a map of Saint Marie Du Mont with minefields [Annotator's Note: areas where mines, stationary explosive devices triggered by physical contact are buried]. He brought the map back to his commander who was thrilled with Levine. Because of the intel he brought to his company, they invaded the town an alternative way the next morning. [Annotator's Note: Levine gets up from his seat leaving the view of the camera at 0:27:27.000. Video break at 0:27:31.000.] Levine took revenge on a German sniper who killed his squad leader the morning after the Americans took Saint Marie Du Mont. Levine went up a building and threw a grenade in a room where he was. After it exploded, Levine entered and saw a woman dead on the bed. The German was hurt but still alive. He killed the German with his pistol. Levine was able to communicate with the local French. He had to live his life day to day because he did not know what was in store for him. He made it through the hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation] which was very difficult. Due to the heavy loses of his unit, he achieved the rank of Platoon Sergeant in within 30 days after landing in France. To survive the hedgerows, Levine came up with an idea to divide the troops up and walk on both sides of the hedgerows. He believes that it saved a lot of casualties. He often called for air support when they got into trouble. In July 1944, his company attacked a village and Levine was wounded in the leg. He was taken out of combat for three days. In September 1944, his company jumped into Holland for Operation Market Garden [Annotator's Note: Operation Market Garden, Netherlands, 17 to 25 September 1944]. He was injured after the jump and then transferred to the 30th Infantry Division. In his new division, he fought in Aachen [Annotator's Note: Aachen, Germany]. After taking the city, Levine and other troops found a building filled with kegs of beer. They moved to the next town over which was a coal mining town to rest. Levine, and another guy, took a house that was inhabited by two women. The soldiers took hot showers at the coal mine.

In December 1944, Arthur Levine [Annotator's Note: with the 30th Infantry Division] received orders to head to Stoumont, Belgium. While he was on patrol one day, he came across a tank brigade. He was able to capture two Germans and interrogate them. Levine found hoses on them which were used to siphon gas. As artillery shelling commenced during combat, Levine saw a German standing with binoculars. Levine and another guy decided to go up the hill and capture the German because he was directing the shelling. When they got up there, Levine stabbed him with a bayonet. He quickly realized that the German was about 16 years old. This bothered Levine for the rest of his life. The shelling stopped and he busted the radio the German was using. Levine continued in combat which was very heavy, and they had to back track. On 25 December 1944, he was hit by an artillery round in his hip while the man next to him was killed. He was taken to an aid station, was evacuated to Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France], and then onto England where he stayed for some time. He boarded Queen Mary [Annotator's Note: RMS Queen Mary], crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and disembarked in New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. He went by train to a hospital in Denver [Annotator's Note: Denver, Colorado] to recover. After recuperating he was reassigned at Fort Carson [Annotator's Note: in Colorado Springs, Colorado] and commissioned as a second lieutenant. Because he could speak and write several languages he was sent to Berlin [Annotator's Note: Berlin, Germany] for the occupation of Germany. Levine stayed in a hotel-like building and was assigned to command a platoon and hire civilians. Levine could not get around to liking the Germans. He first assignment was to clean the subway and sewer systems after the German Army flooded them. He travelled all over Germany and visited Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany], Dachau concentration camp [Annotator's Note: Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany], and the Nuremburg trials [Annotator's Note: Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, military tribunals Nuremberg, Germany, 20 November 1945 to 1 October 1946].

Arthur Levine [Annotator's Note: with the 30th Infantry Division], turned 20 in July 1944 after landing in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Some of his commanders made bad combat decisions that created several unnecessary casualties. Death was every day for Levine. Bodies were stiff as boards during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] because it was so cold. Replacements lasted only one day. The oldest man in his platoon, Pops, was 36 years old and survived the war. Levine enjoyed running a platoon and felt like he got good results from his men. He lives his life today as he did when he was in combat – just one day at a time. Levine suffers post-traumatic stress from several combat experiences. He suffers from nightmares and has sought medical help in the past. Levine attended some of the trials at Nuremberg [Annotator's Note: Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, military tribunals Nuremberg, Germany, 20 November 1945 to 1 October 1946]. He believes that World War 2 was necessary, and the Americans had to win. He met a lot of Russians and thought they were great. He often bartered with them. He still has metal in his butt from being wounded, along with false teeth. He enjoyed being in the army and thought he was treated well. Both of his sons served in the army. Hs wife passed away several years ago, and he took a trip to Hawaii. He stayed in the army until his retirement in 1963. He opened a service station and garage. Later he became a guard and volunteered at a museum. He talks to recruits. He carried his Bible with him during his whole time he was in Europe even though he is not very religious.

Arthur Levine [Annotator's Note: with the 30th Infantry Division] never shot a prisoner that he oversaw. He interrogated prisoners because he could speak German. Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] came to power and he killed the families of those who betrayed him. He often gets thanked for his service when he wears his World War 2 hat. He believes that what the Americans did in World War 2 saved the world. He has no animosity towards the Russians and thought that they helped win the war. Levine dated a woman while he was in Europe and wanted to marry her, but his mother told him not to. When he returned home, he married the girl next door, Shirley. He enjoyed his marriage. His experience of war made him more patriotic to his country. He thinks that FDR [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] saved this country by his WPA [Annotator's Note: The Works Progress Administration was a federally sponsored program that put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression] programs. The Army had great retirement benefits. He hopes one day that this country will have a different Commander in Chief [Annotator's Note: the President of the United States] because the current one wants to decrease the military [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview]. When he talks to recruits at Fort Sill [Annotator's Note: in Lawton, Oklahoma], he tells them that they are best military and are taken care of well because we live in the best country. Levine believes that the academic world is filled with anti-American ideology. Being in the military were the best years of his life. He was dirt poor before enlisted, and after, he was clothed, fed, and paid. Levine would still fight for this country today if he had to. The army was his way of life and that's why he does a lot of recruiting. He is proud that his sons served in the military.