Edward Torres

By Petra Chesner Schlatter, Bucks Local News.com

Active Private First Class Edward Torres was injured by mortar fire during World War II in Germany. Before his unit reached the Rhine River, Torres sustained nerve damage to his leg and hearing loss in both ears.Three of his toes are paralyzed.

He lived to tell about it.

Torres was born on March 12, 1926 in Washington Heights, a section of New York City near the George Washington Bridge.

Torres was drafted. "At that time, if you were 17 years old, you could enlist. Once you reached 18, you were automatically drafted," he said. Torres said his father convinced someone to let him graduate from high school first.

His brother had been killed in Italy in 1943.

"I really wanted to go in The Service," said Torres, 82. "Everyone was taking their chances. It was your time to take your chance." His first day in the Army was July 30, 1944. Torres became part of the 84th Infantry Division in Europe.

In early January, 1945 "we shipped out for Europe on a troop ship to Le Havre, France. It was pretty well demolished. We were U.S. Army replacements - replacing the casualties."

Torres has a copy of Life magazine with a photograph depicting countless soldiers, just like him, who would become part of a massive relief effort in Europe. The American forces continued to face the Nazis head-on.

He had prayed early on that if he got wounded, he hoped it would be in his ankle. Indeed, mortar fragments went through his ankle. "I believe in my faith. I believe there is a God and he listened to me."

Torres said he witnessed people die in action. "I saw a man get killed. There was dust all around. That was the man's soul leaving his body."

"There's no joy seeing a body completely destroyed," he lamented.
Coping with the thought of his own possible death, he went along with what he called the common joke of the time: "Praying for civilian." The phrase meant, "That you come out alive."

Engaged in combat on the ground, Torres and his fellow soldiers followed rivers along the way. "We had a lot of casualties - men were jumping the river. The set up was what they call a manmade bridge, which is just enough for one person to get across with the shelling."

Torres carried an M1 rifle and grenades. "You're always afraid, but you cross the river under constant shelling. You had casualties that went before us. There was constantly danger. Shelling. Mine fields. Mortar fire.

"We kept going for days. You're on the go 24 hours a day. You very rarely sleep - maybe two to three hours a day. That's it," he remembered.

Torres spoke openly about "Battle Fatigue," something he said young soldiers are experiencing today in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome," is a common term.

"You're constantly going day and night. There's no let-up. That's when you're determined - whether you're able to sustain the pain. I broke down in the hospital. All of a sudden you start to cry," he said.

He was in a field hospital in Germany and was taken by ambulance and airplane to England.
Torres attributed his stuttering to being in battle. "Noise would make me sweat. I used to have blue eyes. They turned color. My heart turned grey. All these are side effects of war. The nerves in my left leg were blown out."

Torres remembers the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. "It was cold in winter. It was very cold. I wore two pairs of everything - pants, shirts. You';re marching around. You perspire and that's when you really feel cold."

"I got as far as the Rhine and was wounded" he remembered. "We were zeroed in by mortar fire," Torres explained. "We had a squadron of 12." Some died. Some were wounded. It was March 4, 1945.

When he came back to the States, having been hospitalized in England for shell shock and injuries, Torres said he used to think of the war. "War is brutal - vicious," he exclaimed. "It's not a sporting event like some people think.

"The significant thing right now is I believe in my faith," Torres asserted.
One place that stands out for Torres is a hospital in Paris. "I was baptized a Catholic in 1945. That was my goal - to become a Catholic if I survived the war. They say they have no atheists in fox-holes."

Torres noted there are a dozen different cemeteries in France.
With his wife, Catherine by his side, Torres spread relics of his war days across a lace-covered dining room table. His collection includes broadsheet newspapers with huge headlines. He has a "Second Extra" issue of the Miami Herald, heralding the Japanese surrender: "WAR ENDS."

He has carefully saved numerous pieces of World War II memorabilia, including a binder he calls a diary. In it are daily entries. Some of his keepsakes also adorn one wall in his garage.

His medals hang there in a case. They include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Good Conduct Medal, the Victory Medal, the European Theater of Operations medal and the Occupation Medal for fighting in Germany. There are large group shots of soldiers, including him. A picture of the American flag hangs there; too, it was made by one of his grandchildren.

For 30 years, Torres had the honor of playing Taps on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, the key official functions of the VFW Post 6393 in Yardley. "Now, it's a tape we have. I gave that up four years ago" He stressed the audio tape of Taps is from the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C.

A Lower Makefield Township resident since 1964, Torres and his wife had previously lived in Levittown for 11 years.

He earned a bachelor's of science degree in administration through the U.S. Army from then-Rider College. According to Torres, the G.I. Bill paid for everything because he was a disabled veteran.

For 34 years, Torres worked for U.S. Steel in the accounting department. Then, he was a sales clerk with the Liquor Control Board until 2001.

Torres said he enjoys the comradeship at the VFW building in Yardley. "You talk about the events of the past. Now, we're getting new members from the present wars. You understand what they're going through as far as the feelings and getting hurt."

On today's current situation, Torres noted, "I'm beginning to think we should get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The terrorists are always going to be there. They have to be wiped out. We're being the world's policemen and the U.N. is all over.
"It's very costly to the United States. In Iraq, they want us out and we're still trying to stay there," he maintained.