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Clifford Waibel

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After graduating from the Navy's Armed Guard school, Clifford Waibel was assigned to the USNS Mission San Antonio, a tanker. They operated in the Atlantic and the Caribbean, transporting aviation fuel. While under repair in the warm waters of the Caribbean, Waibel nearly got more than he bargained for when he decided to go fishing. Near Aruba, submarine activity was heavy, including deals with local smugglers. (5:20)

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He was standing watch on a tanker in a convoy in the Irish Sea. Clifford Waibel saw another convoy heading straight for them on a collision course. He alerted the wheelhouse three times, but, for some reason, his warnings were ignored. An English Liberty Ship plowed right into the tanker, narrowly missing the gasoline storage hold. (2:22)

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Navy Armed Guard Clifford Waibel describes the convoys he was part of during his year on a tanker. His next vessel was a Liberty Ship, moving general military cargo in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The ride was a lot rougher on the lighter vessel, but it didn't bother the young gunner. He was more than a little alarmed, though, at what he saw when the ship arrived in an Italian port just after an air raid. (5:01)

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Navy Armed Guard Clifford Waibel was assigned to a refrigerated cargo ship which operated in the Pacific near the end of the war. The vessel would have been a mortuary ship had the Japan invasion proceeded. When he returned to civilian life, it took a little while to get used to mixed company after so long in the Navy. (5:18)

Clifford Wilford

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Clifford Wilford recalls the boat ride out to Fort Slocum off of the coast of New York. Sailing out of this precarious area, torpedoes were a real danger for all of the ships in the convoy. (3:00)

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While stationed in Iceland, Clifford Wilford remembers thinking that his infantry would be attacked due to their proximity to the Germans stationed in Norway. They were set on high alert on in one instance, not knowing whether they were soon to face combat. (2:57)

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Clifford Wilford remembers some of his infantry's encounters as they navigate through the French countryside. While in combat in France, they broke through the main line of German resistance. Continued in Part 2. (8:21)

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Clifford Wilford's infantry faced a number of challenges while fighting in Northern France. While facing combat in chateaus around Angiers, France, Wilford remembers the sight of a pile of dead German soldiers that has stuck with him for 70 years. Continued from Part 1. (5:16)

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As Clifford Wilford's infantry diverts past Paris, they encountered a few additional obstacles that they had to overcome. Wilford had to drive a Jeep across an open battlefield while his commander mapped out the locations of German artillery stations, risking fire from incoming mortar shells. (4:36)

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Clifford Wilford remembers when the Allies had finally liberated France from the German soldiers. During the Battle of the Bulge, they had to deal with the complications of inclement weather. (6:02)