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Robert and Donald Roach Army World War II	Robert Roach Lock Haven Army World War II

LOCK HAVEN - "I am not a hero," Bob Roach writes, "I am a survivor; the heroes are the ones that didn't come home."

Yet to spend even a little bit of time talking to Roach is to hear a story of service and sacrifice; that of an unmistakable World War II hero.

Robert Roach entered the Army on March 29, 1944, starting in Fort Mead, Md.

"After four weeks of training, away we went" explains Roach, away to Belgium and away to Germany, serving in the 78th Division Infantry.

"Infantry is a branch of the military forces that wins our wars," he said. "The Infantry could not do its job without the support of the other branches. But the fact is, no battle is ever won, no war is ever finally won until the foot soldiers get there and throw the enemy out and take possession of the land.

"In combat, they say, the first 24 hours is the hardest time for new troops to survive, because no matter how much training a soldier has, he can not realize how dangerous combat really is until he experiences it."

During World War II, the 78th Division embarked for Germany.

The infantry traveled the Siegfried Line, the Roer and Rhine Rivers, the Cologne plain, the Remagen bridgehead, the Ruhr pocket, the Hurtgen Forest - all which lay along the road to Berlin.

"My first trip out, there were 20 on the truck and four of us were replacements, the other 16 had all been wounded and were going back a second time. It was a lot harder for them," he said. "We were told, when you hear the shells, hit the ground, then get up and run. Every step you took, bullets were flying left and right."

Charles C. Berry of Renovo was running through a field next to him. "I told him to keep running but he stopped," Roach said. "He was killed in that field."

Roach recalled being asked to collect the wounded with four other soldiers.

"After four trips, fortunately one of us picked up a rifle on the way out," Roach said. "We were walking in a line and suddenly there were not five but six of us. One German was walking in line with us and the fellow with the rifle waved his arm. We all dropped to the ground and he shot the German soldier."

"We would go with just eight hours of sleep in five days," he added. "We slept on the ground a good many days, we had little sleep because the Germans would move at night and the Air Force would bomb at day.

"In training they can't duplicate the hunger, being wet all the time, cold feet, eating cold rations about half the time, not having proper clothing or foot gear," he continued. "And the general apprehension - even if you were convinced you were never going to be hit."

Roach describes some days where shells were hitting the road, going down and exploding all around. "It was shear terror."

Roach was captured and held for three days, he said.

"We ended up in a pig pen and just shut the door; a tank shell hit the pig pen. The guy to the left of me was killed and the guy to the right had his leg blown off," said Roach who was wounded from that shell. "What saved my life was the door frame."

Using rawhide shoe laces and a belt, Roach managed to make a tourniquet around the wounded soldier's leg and they were able to carry him to a barn.

"We had no water, nothing," he said. "If you couldn't walk, the Germans usually shot you. Two German officers found us and held us at gun point for three days. Then they left and set the house on fire. We got out and went to the next house. We managed to push in coal bin which the Germans had stayed in the night before. We heard tanks and were not sure who they were. It turned out word got back to K Company. They came from the opposite direction."

Roach ended up in a hospital and his twin brother, Donald W. Roach was also in the same hospital. Donald had been wounded, gangrene had set in and he lost his leg.

Both brothers were flown back to Paris and eventually back home. Bob spent eight months in a hospital and Donald remained hospitalized for a year and a half.

Roach has returned to Germany eight times, beginning in 1969. The last trip took place in 2005 for the 50th anniversary of the Rhine River initiative.

"We have made friends with German soldiers and with families in Belgium," he said.

Bob's wife Beryl explained, "The effects of the war are lasting. The people from Belgium always remember, and are to this day so very grateful. They take care of the graves of our fallen heroes and hand down that responsibility from generation to generation."

That depth of feeling was conveyed poignantly in a letter from Belgium resident Jack Comhair to Donald Roach and the other surviving members of the 78th Infantry.

"A message for all my American friends," Comhair wrote. "I will always remember you as my best friends and you know that we'll never, never forget you all. You must believe me: I have tears in my eyes when writing these words. Whenever you come to Belgium, please let me know, you are welcome in my house as before."

The Roaches attend many events and reunions of the 78th Infantry and plan on visiting Louisville, Ky., in the fall for the 2008 reunion.

The World War II Honor Roll for the 78th Infantry lists one Medal of Honor winner; nine Distinguished Services Crosses; 599 Silver Star Medals; 3,909 Bronze Star Medals and 5,454 Purple Hearts. There were 1,625 officers and enlisted men who paid the supreme sacrifice.

Born in 1925 and 1926, Bob and Beryl demonstrate all the values true to their generation, including personal responsibility, duty, honor and faith. The definition of a hero is a person of extreme admiration; a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities.

That is Robert Roach.

He is the recipient of the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, European African Medal and Eastern Campaign Medal.

He is - most importantly to him - a member of the 78th Infantry.

And most certainly, he is our Clinton County Hometown Hero.

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