PFC Ernie Mogor, U.S. Army, World War II

Ernie Mogor wanted to join the U.S. Navy during World War II but he was rejected for being colorblind. He then chose the Army over the Marines and was soon off for “vigorous” infantry training. He became very proficient with the M-1 rifle, only for the Army to have him switch to a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) not long before he was sent into combat. Much to his surprise, he loved the BAR even more. Mogor was assigned to the Army’s 76th Infantry Division and was put into action just as the division was crossing the Saar River under heavy German fire.

In this edition of “Veterans Chronicles,” Mogor tells us what it was like to cross the river on flat-bottomed boats using rifles as oars and somehow making it to the other side when so many other Americans did not. He also describes fighting consistently for the next three months as his division pushed to the Rhine River. And he details how he was shot, injured, and evacuated for the remainder of the war, just before tha U.S. crossed the Rhine.

Finally, Mogor recounts his emotional return to where he fought – nearly 80 years later. He shares what it was like to find the grave of his good friend who was killed crossing the Saar – and what he said while standing at the gravesite.

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Veterans Chronicles