Here are 13 photographs of the European Theater during World War II. The photographs include views of soldiers boarding trains and transport ships, a pill box, jeeps, a nurse, and 11,000 German P.O.W.s. Donald P. Richards appears in many of the photographs and some were possibly taken by Richards. He enlisted in the Army in June 1942 while enrolled in the ROTC program at Kansas State. Richards attended Infantry officers training at Fort Benning, Ga. and was ordered overseas to the European Theater in June 1944. He served as a platoon leader in the 317th Regiment, 80th Infantry Division, Third Army. Richards was wounded in the Battle of the Moselle, Eastern France and returned to the 317th during the Battle of the Bulge and was with the unit until the war ended in Europe. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the ETO Theater Ribbon with four stars. In July 1945, he volunteered as a photo officer in the Third Army's 166th Signal Photo Company which was scheduled to go from Europe to the Pacific Theater for the invasion of Japan. The Japanese war ended while the photo company was readying for debarkation at Marseilles, France. The company was then broken up and Don was assigned to Oise headquarters at Reims then transferred to Western Base Headquarters in Paris. He returned to the U.S. in July 1946.

Creator: Richards, Donald P.
Date: 1945