Manny Barrios 

 

Many thanks to Manny Barrios who agreed to answer my requests. And I also would like to thank Célia and Hélène for the translations.

 

  

 

Manny Barrios was born on June 8, 1921 in Morenci, Arizona.

As soon as war was declared, he joined the army, he was only 21 years old.

Young and eager to make his duty, he joined the 506th PIR and for all these young people, it was real fun. He integrated Company I of the 3^rd Battalion.

“We were young and eager to do our duty. It was all fun for us”

The crossing of the Atlantic left him an awful memory. The old boat was under constant protection of the U-Boot attacks. Most of them were eating candy bars because the food was pretty crap.

On the other hand,Barrios kept a very good memory of his stay in England. He spent 8 months there.

“The English people were happy to see we were there to help them!”

The jump over Normandy was a disaster! He got wounded in Normandy which kept him from taking part in the operation Market Garden.

He fought during the Bastogne campaign.

“The hardest was not the German attack, but the weather and the cold!”

He knew the war was ending when he saw German prisoners thanked them.

“We knew at that time they had enough of it! »

At the end of the war, he was in Austria. Manny Barrios ended the war with the rank of Sergeant.

He brought some war souvenirs like a book he took at Hitler’s eagle nest.

He was back home in September 1945.

“Back home, I started drinking. I went back to college to study to become an engineer. I got maried and had two daughters. Each one got married and also had a daughter each. One of my grand daughter studies medicine at university, while the other is in college. My wife died in 1994. I live alone.”