Don Krogels military service began July 9th 1943. I received my draft papers while working for the US Forest service at Diamond Lake. I was inducted at Ft. Lewis,Wa. and then went to the 51st AA Battalion at Camp Callan,Ca. near San Diego. After 17 weeks of basic training I was transferred to the Amarillo Texas Air Force base because I wanted to be an Air Force pilot. I was accepted into a Cadet program and sent to Missoula, Montana to attend Montana State College. While I was there, the Air Force cancelled the cadet program because they had too many pilots. All of the students were sent to infantry divisions because they were experiencing heavy casualties. I as assigned to the 70th Division at Camp Adair, Oregon, near Corvallis. After finishing infantry basic training there, I was assigned to Company M 276th Inf. Regt. which was a heavy weapons company. I became 1st. Gunner on a 30 cal water cooled machine gun squad. WE moved to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO to finish our training before going overseas. We transferred to Camp Miles Standish near Boston, MA where we deployed to go overseas. I was promoted to Squad leader before we boarded the USS West Point for Marseille, France on December 6, 1944. After landing in Marseille, we moved north to fight at the "Battle of the Bulge". Then we moved south and fought in the Vosage Mountains under very heavy artillery fire. After being relieved in the mountains by they 45th Div., I was promoted to Staff Sergeant and section leader. We fought towards the German Border near the town of Saarbrucken, Germany. On the way, we ran into heavy opposition in a town named Forbach. It took us 10 days of street fighting to take that city. My best friend, Keith Harrison, was wounded there and died 6 days later in the hospital in Epinal, France. From there we took Saarbrucken and began moving into Germany. We took a large POW Camp and released many allie prisoners. We were there when the war ended on May 7, 1945. Our division was broken up and sent to backfill other divisions. I was sent to the 78th Div 310 Inf Regt. H Co. While attached to H Company, we moved into Berlin for guard duty. While I was there I was sergeant of the guard at the ACA Building. Where all the generals met from Russia, France, England and the US. To make the plans on how to divide up Germany and control it. I was there about 6 months and finally sent home for discharged at Ft Lewis, Washington on May 2, 1946. I fought in three major battles, and at one time was in contact with the Germans for 88 days without any R&R. After my discharge, I came home and joined the Oregon National Guard of the 41st Infantry Div. 186th Regt. Co D. I actively drilled for 5 years until I was discharged from there with a commission of 2Lt.