Born in march of 1921 in Hooverville, Pennsylvania. I joined the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Toccoa Georgia in 1942. Back then Toccoa was still known as Camp Toombs. As an original member of the 506th, i got to serve in a number of different companies such as the Rgt HQ and Service Company. My last assignment with the regiment was that of combat medic.
As i took part in every campaign of the 506th, the invasion in Normandy and the liberation of The Netherlands were among them.
In Holland, i remember we landed in Son on September the 17th 1944 on a sunday afternoon. Went the whole way through Holland. Spent some time in little place called Uden where i met a lot of really nice people. In Nijmegen (Holland) we assisted the British troops in getting their men across to our side.
During the Battle of the Bulge campaign (Belgium) i was awarded the Purple Heart twice for being wounded on two seperate occassions. When the war was over and i was back home again, I joined the US Army Reserves where i was commissioned as an officer.
Merle Lauer
