Metzger, Fritz

Fritz Metzger discusses his World War I experiences. He was twenty-one years old when he was drafted into an infantry unit of the 2nd Division of the United States Army. He trained at Camp Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky and later at Camp Pike in Little Rock, Arkansas. Metzger recalls the living conditions and moral of American troops on the Western Front and describes his combat experiences. He mentions contact with German troops and serving in the occupational forces in Germany when the war concluded. He offers details on the reaction of people of the signing of the Armistice. Metzger also explains why he thought the war was just, some of the benefits he received from the war and key incidents which stood out most in his mind during the war, including the battle at Belleau Wood.