Narrator: Joseph Arena
Occupation:
Interviewer: Betsy Reid
Topics: WWII – Europe
Biographical Notes:
Born: May 3,1925
Died: February 7, 2007
Joe Arena was the son of Italian immigrants. He was born in Stamford, CT, graduated from Stamford High School in June 1943 and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army.
Joe was in the infantry in Patton’s Third Army. He fought in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and into Czechoslovakia. He was also a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
The allied invasion of Normandy, D-Day, took place on June 6, 1944. Close to three million Allied troops crossed the English Channel. Joe arrived at Utah Beach shortly after D-Day.
In this clip Joe and an army buddy named Peter were in a foxhole together in Normandy, when they had their first combat experience.
