Sam Litrenti

Sam Litrenti, Army Medical Corps, England

We would like to hear any of your stories and what you remember about your service.

I was in the Army Medical Corps stationed in Malvern, England in 1942. I was originally stationed at Camp Grant in Illinois. From England, they sent us to different combat units. I was lucky that I stayed in the Medical Corps and didn’t have to see any real battles.

How long were you over there?

Just about two years. I had a lot of English girlfriends. I was 18 when I went in, I was born in 1925 in Chicago. When I was drafted, my mother was concerned. But, being in the Medical Corps, I was not in combat but took care of those who were, which was just as bad. It was a good experience and I learned a lot. It afforded me the opportunity to go to college after I got out of service. I went to college at Northern Illinois on the GI Bill.

Did you stay in the same location or hospital?

No. They transferred you to quite a bit of locations, all in England.

Was your father in the military also?

Yes. I went to pretty much the same places that he went to. In fact I was issued the same rucksack that he used in WWI. After we got our equipment, they said to put your name on them and I looked and it already had my name on it. It was quite a coincidence. There was an article written about it at the time.

What did you do in the Medical Corps?

When I was in camp, a lot of my friends were taken from there and went into the invasion and a couple of them didn’t return. I don’t know why I wasn’t, maybe because I was a typist and they wanted me in the office and that probably saved my life. I don’t know how I was selected for the Medical Corps. I learned how to type in high school and I was pretty good.

I worked in the office. When we were being given assignments, they asked if anyone knew how to type. One of my buddies who was older than me said “Sam knows how to type.” So that is how I got to work in the office and out of combat. It probably saved my life, who knows. I kept track of records and things like that.

I met a lot of interesting people and went to a lot of interesting places that I would never have seen if I wasn’t in the Army. My mother was very worried about me and my younger brother who went into the Navy. I was still in England when the war ended, not long after I got there.

It seems like you are in great shape.

I will be 89 in January 2013 and I can still do a lot of things that people my age can’t do. I can walk with no type of assistance. I hurt my shoulder while I was in England. They use live explosives during training and I was flipped over and, when I landed, I dislocated my shoulder. They put me in the hospital and gave me a cast which I was in for over a month. That kind of saved me. Otherwise, I would have been in the middle of the battle when they had the invasion.

When I was in England, I met a lot of interesting people, mostly girls and almost married an English girl. We corresponded for quite a while. And then I met my wife and that was the end of that. My wife was quite a gal, very smart and cute. We were married over 50 years when she passed away three years ago.

We had three children, two girls and a boy.