Oral History Interview with Hobert Dempsey, August 13, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hobert Dempsey. Dempsey joined the Army in June 1943 and received antiaircraft training in the Mojave Desert. He came down with appendicitis just before his unit went overseas. After recovering, he was reassigned to the 232nd Infantry Regiment, Rainbow Division, as a combat infantryman. He arrived at Le Havre in December 1944, finding a port full of civilian casualties. He fought through France and into Belgium. He was shot in the leg and played dead until the Germans passed by. He was sent to a hospital three days later and returned to the front lines after four days of recuperation. After crossing the Rhine as a front-runner, he accidentally went behind German lines and was captured with five other Americans. He was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp that was unknown to the Americans, who strafed the camp at least once. Conditions were harsh, food was scarce, and the prisoners performed hard labor in cold weather. The camp was overtaken by Russians, who wouldn’t let American troops evacuate prisoners. Dempsey escaped on foot and was eventually rescued and smuggled past a Russian checkpoint by Americans. He weighed over 150 pounds when he was deployed and less than 100 pounds when he returned home