Russell Sattazahn was born April 17, 1926 in Rexmont, Pennsylvania, though his parents relocated soon after, and Russell ended up living in a number of rural communities in the southeastern portion of the state.  He grew up on a small farm alongside his four siblings, navigating the realities of the Great Depression.  He attended high school in Schaefferstown, where he was part of the Class of 1944:  he graduated right into the war – after he was drafted.  He was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for infantry training, and he was there in December 1944 – when the Battle of the Bulge started.  The army was in desperate need of replacement soldiers, so Russell was shipped out before he completed his training.  After a quick visit home, he was placed on the USS Wakefield and sent to England, and they quickly crossed the Channel and France and found themselves on the front lines in Belgium in January 1945, where Russell was part of the First Infantry Division’s 18th Regiment (Company G).  Russell was there for the crossing of the Siegfried Line, and he saw about two months of combat before a grievous wound took him out of the war.  Russell’s company was moving through open fields and hiding in houses where they could; on the day he was wounded they were hiding in a basement when German artillery opened up on them.  Russell lost his right hand in that attack, and he sustained facial wounds.  They had to wait for the shelling to subside, so he was kept in that house until the next day, when medics walked him back to a field hospital.  From there Russell’s medical odyssey began as he went from the MASH to Paris, and then he was flown back to New York and taken to military hospitals in Valley Forge (where he turned 19) and Atlantic City.  In Atlantic City he stayed in the Chalfonte Hotel, which had been converted into a convalescence hospital.  Russell was there from April to October 1945, undergoing additional surgeries and adapting to his new circumstances.  He had a leave and was able to reconnect with family, and he also celebrated VJ Day in Atlantic City. Russell went into the work force next, and he held a series of jobs in the early years after the war.  He also met and married Georgette, and the two of them had 75 years together, raising their family and staking their place in postwar America.  Russell Sattazahn was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania in July 2025.