Alan Kinder was waiting to be drafted into the military during World War II, but when he arrived at the Army recruiter, he was told his eyesight was too poor. The next time he tried to join, his eyesight wasn't any better. This time, the Army took him anyway.
Kinder was trained in sound ranging as part of the 14th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. His job was to determine how far away the enemies were and what vehicles they might have with them. The battalion landed at Utah Beach just a few weeks after D-Day. Months later it would be part of the Battle of Nancy, in eastern France, and the Battle of the Bulge.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Kinder explains how sound ranging worked and how his unit helped to chase the Nazis from Normandy to the eastern edge of France. He will take us inside their work at the Battle of Nancy, almost being killed near the Battle of the Bulge, and his memory of the cost of war from the Bulge that he's only been able to talk about in recent years.
Kinder will also share his memories of crossing the Rhine and the final weeks of the war before the German surrender.