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Arlyn Lober - World War II
Arlyn Lober, a tank crewman in the 11th Armored Division, arrived in France in late 1944, and had his baptism of fire during the Battle of the Bulge. Suffering from frostbite, he was hospitalized for several weeks, then returned to his unit, now as a tank commander. Lober served with the 42nd Tank Battalion, part of Patton's 3rd Army as it fought its way across Germany, and celebrated his 21st birthday on V-E day, May 8, 1945. A few days later he saw the horrors of Nazi Germany when visiting Gusen concentration camp, part of the Mauthausen concentration camp complex.
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First Combat
Abstract
Interview Session (Audio)
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See Also
See also the interview with Maureen Lober, Arlyn's wife who discusses homefront memories of World War II and VJ Day.
Photos
Caption
Arlyn was a member of the Army Special Training Program at the University of Oregon during the fall of 1943. Students took intensive engineer training while in Eugene until the program was cancelled.
Where:
University of Oregon
When:
1943
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn Lober (front row, right) relaxes with a group of friends on the steps of their barracks while at Camp Cooke, California in 1944. Arlyn had little to say about being assigned as a tanker, but soon adjusted to his assignment.
Where:
Camp Cooke, California
When:
1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn’s fellow ASTP classmates who were transferred to Camp Cooke gathered for an impromptu reunion in a San Luis Obispo, California restaurant in May, 1944. Arlyn is standing, on the right.
Where:
San Luis Obispo, California
When:
May, 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Several of Arlyn’s fellow ASTP classmates who were transferred to Camp Cooke met in a San Luis Obispo, California restaurant in May, 1944. Arlyn is third from the right, next to his Oregon roommate, Ken Michael, who hailed from Hyland, Illinois.
Where:
San Luis Obispo, California
When:
May, 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn relaxes on the steps of his barracks at Camp Cooke, California in the summer of 1944. He had just been assigned as a member of the 42nd Tank Battalion of the 11th Armored Division.
Where:
Camp Cooke, California
When:
1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn was given a furlough prior to the unit’s shipment overseas. He spent the time in Cissna Park, Illinois, his home town in August. The unit shipped out from New York City in late September.
Where:
Cissna Park, Illinois
When:
1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dan Groshong and Arlyn (on the right) got to enjoy a brief fling as tourists in wartime New York City before the division shipped overseas in late September, 1944.
Where:
New York City
When:
September, 1944
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
11th Division tanks await orders to attack the Belgium town of Compgne on January 2, 1945. The photo is included in the unit’s history published in 1988.
Where:
Belgium
When:
January 2, 1945
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Arlyn used his Sherman’s 76 mm gun for a seat for this photo in March, 1945, during the unit’s drive across Germany. The Shermans were upgraded to the more powerful 76s late in the war.
Where:
Germany
When:
March, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
11th Division tanks enter the town of Mackazeuln, Germany on April 12, 1945. The photo is included in the unit’s official history.
Where:
Mackazeuln, Germany
When:
April 12, 1945
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Arlyn became a tank commander following his return to the 42nd Tank Battalion after being hospitalized for three weeks due to frostbite. Here he is manning the Sherman’s .50 caliber machine gun in the spring of 1945, somewhere in Germany.
Where:
Germany
When:
1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Three of the platoon’s tanks are parked somewhere in Germany during the spring of 1945. The unit still encountered pockets of stiff resistance as they fought their way across Germany with Patton’s 3rd Army.
Where:
Germany
When:
1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn Lober stands behind the Sherman he commanded, holding an M3 .45 caliber submachine gun. The unit was in southeast Germany by the late spring of 1945. The grease gun was standard issue for tank crewmen by this time in the war.
Where:
Germany
When:
1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Elements of the 11th Armored Division prep the town of Keppel, Austria on May 4, 1945, just days before the German surrender on May 8. The photo is included in the unit’s official history.
Where:
Keppel, Austria
When:
May 4, 1945
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Division engineers’ watch as a tank column crosses the Muhl River near Neufelden, Austria on May 4, 1945, just days before the German surrender.
Where:
Neufelden, Austria
When:
May 4, 1945
Ownership:
The photo is included in the Division’s official history.This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Arlyn Lober and his M4 Sherman tank crew enjoy a moment to relax during the spring of 1945 somewhere in Germany. They turned the tank in shortly after the German surrender on May 8th.
Where:
Germany
When:
1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn’s tank platoon, part of C Company, 42nd Tank Battalion, gathered for this photo near the end of the war in May, 1945, when the unit was in Austria.
Where:
Austria
When:
May, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn Lober proudly stands under a sign the 11th Armored Division put up in May, 1945. The unit ended the war in Austria.
Where:
Austria
When:
May, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Arlyn, wearing the white t-shirt at Steyer, Austria in May, 1945, after the German’s surrender. Dan Groshong and Bill Nelms share the moment with him.
Where:
Steyer, Austria
When:
May, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
A local Austrian woman painted Arlyn Lober’s portrait in May, 1945, during the unit’s short stay in Steyer, Austria. He traded a carton of cigarettes (the unofficial post-war currency) for the painting.
Where:
Steyer, Austria
When:
May, 1945
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The 11th Armored Division’s cavalry unit helped liberate the Mauthausen Concentration Camp near Linz, Germany, and were greeted by emaciated yet exuberant prisoners. Lober saw Gusen, a satellite camp of the Mauthausen complex.
Where:
Mauthausen Concentration Camp near Linz, Germany
When:
1945
Ownership:
The photo is included in the Division’s official history. This image is considered to be in the public domain.