Warriors in their Own Words

Remarkable stories of war told by the men who fought for a proud nation. Their words. Their voices. Our first episodes tell riveting stories from World War II, then we move on to the Vietnam War and other dramatic conflicts.

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S/Sgt. Alfred Bell: Bleeding in the Basement

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S/Sgt. Alfred Bell: Bleeding in the Basement

Staff Sergeant Alfred Bell served as a Tank Platoon Sergeant during World War II. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the famous Spearhead Division.

In this episode, he recounts the Battle of the Bulge. During the battle, Bell commanded all five tanks in his platoon. When the company-wide radio communications weren’t working, he left his tank on foot and fought across the battlefield to the aid station where they had battalion-wide communications. Bell still wasn’t able to contact his company with that radio, so he fought tooth and nail to protect the aid station as it was evacuated. By nightfall, Bell had lost an eye, a large portion of his left hand, and most of his fingers. Due to his severe injuries and massive blood loss, he faded in and out of consciousness, and woke up a few days later in a hospital in France.

Bell spent the next two years recovering in a hospital in Texas, where he underwent many reconstructive plastic surgeries.

To learn more about the evacuation of this aid station, and Sergeant Aurio Pierro, who was mentioned in this episode, listen to our interview with Pierro.


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