There were those who doubted whether NationalGuard Units could hold up like regular U.S. Army unitsin wartime. Routinely assigned missions where theodds were stacked heavily against them, the 175thRegiment-29th Infantry Division not only silenced thedoubters, they went on to gain a reputation as one ofthe fiercest fighting units of World War II.This is the story of one infantryman of the 175th-Forest S.Birch-as told to the author, his son, John F. Birch-over a period ofmany years, culminating in a recorded interview, made on June 6, 1994 (50th anniversary of the D-Day beach landings). The transcriptof the interview is included.