Oral History Interview with Magdaleno Cerda, Jr.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Magdaleno Cerda. Cerda joined the Army in November 1942 and received basic training at Camp Robinson. He received field artillery communications training at Camp Gordon. From there he was sent to Camp Forrest, where he served as a gunner. He landed at Normandy with the 90th Infantry Division three days after D-Day. Cerda recalls running out of supplies outside of Paris while trying to keep pace with Patton. Around Christmastime he encountered Germans wearing GI uniforms while he was on patrol. He remembers using a Howitzer to break through walls and cross the Siegfried Line. He was in Munich when the Germans surrendered. After V-E Day, he checked vehicles and trains in Austria for weapons and war criminals. At that time, it was forbidden to fraternize with Germans, and Cerda even reported a major for doing so. After a brief stay at Camp Lucky Strike and some R&R at the French Riviera, Cerda pulled guard duty in Belgium. He returned home and was discharged on 31 December 1945