Oral history interview with Otis Meril Chartier, 2003 March 13

Item

Identifier: DCL2003.204

Staff Only

Abstract

Chartier describes his initial enlistment in the Army Air Corps, his efforts to pursue an army career related to airplanes, and his eventual enrollment in the Infantry shortly before being deployed to duty in France. From there he provides a detailed account of being an infantry soldier on the war's front on the Maginot Line. He recalls his initial contact with German soldiers, being the only survivor of a 12-member scouting squad ambushed by the Germans, and recovery in a French hospital as a result of a subsequent enemy encounter. He continues his story of front line experiences with the enemy, and concludes by describing his observations at the end of the war and his travel across Europe to England as part of his journey home.

Dates

2003 March 13

Conditions Governing Access

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Biographical / Historical

A World War II veteran, Otis Chartier was born in Morgan County in northeast Colorado. He enlisted in the Air Corps shortly after graduating from high school and completed his recruit training at Lowry Field in Denver. He was a member of Company I, 275th Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, serving on the Maginot Line, and was awarded a Bronze Star in 2001 in recognition of his courage in neutralizing a German machine gun haven in Spichlen, France, in February 1945. At the end of the war he returned to the Denver, Colo. area, and following temporary jobs, was employed at a Denver-based company for 31 years.