World War II Honoree

Arthur Sewall Barter

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Boothbay, Maine

Honored By

Sarah Sherman Brewer

Relationship

Friend

Enlisted in the Navy in 1943, but the quota was full, so he enlisted in the Army that same year, at the age of 18. He attended 8 weeks of basic training at Camp Blanding in Jacksonville, Florida and became part of the 14th Armored Division, Headquarters Company. In the fall of 1943, he was shipped overseas. He traveled with many other ships in a convoy and landed in Le Havre, France, after 14 days. He served on a half-track as a machine gunner and rifleman. From France, the outfit was brought right up to the front lines. They fought their way through Germany to the Austrian boarder and liberated 12 small concentration camps along the way. While in the Bavarian Alps, he was able to visit Hitler's mountain top retreat in Berchtesgaden. In May of 1945, after the war was over in Europe, he was assigned to haul German Prisoners of War from one camp to another throughout Germany. He had signed up to fight in Japan, but when the war ended in the Pacific, he was transferred to a dispensary in Paris, France, where he worked in the registration office with patients. He was discharged from the Army at Fort Dix, New Jersey in March of 1947, after serving for 3 years and 6 months. Awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with one bronze star, WWII Victory Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.