"I always was afraid of returning from the war maimed and refused amputation." (Memoir, page 14)

Arthur Eck

Arthur Eck, 1943 War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: Company F, 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Division Service Location: United States; France; Germany Rank: Private POW: Yes Place of Birth: OK

Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Arthur Eck determined he would enlist, but he was only a junior in high school. As soon as he did graduate in 1943, he signed up for the Army Air Corps. His aspirations to be a pilot were dashed when he was transferred to the Army, who needed infantry troops for the invasion of France. Captured in close fighting (by a German lieutenant who had attended the University of Michigan), Eck survived primitive conditions at POW and work camps, knowing the end of the war was near. Suffering from frostbitten feet, he made it to Paris for VE Day, getting a wheelchair tour of the city. Eck talked doctors out of amputation and, with careful treatment and patience, managed to regain his footing, though suffering terrible pains for years.