Bob Carlberg
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Bob Carlberg was a seaman on the Great Lakes when WWII broke out in Europe.
Before he had the chance to join the Ski Troops of the Tenth Mountain Division, Bob was drafted. During the spring of 1943, Bob and others went through grueling training to prepare them for the invasion of Apennines in Italy. He was trained in a camp stationed 9300 feet above sea level. “Here”, Bob recalls, “we always went up the only time we came down was to do rock climbing near Camp Hale.”
In January, 1945 Bob was shipped out to Naples. Here they had planned for the Tenth Division to cross the Po Valley and wrap it all up. Bob recalls his first combat experience in which the Tenth had been fighting for 100 days. By this time the Germans had already resisted two previous attacks and were still holding the Gothic Line. He says “We were short lived, but very active.” During this time they lost 993 and had over 4000 wounded out of the original 10,000.
During a surprise attack on the Germans, in April 1945 Bob was injured. He had been wounded by a sniper in the jaw. After the attack Bob was sent to be hospitalized. Nearly a month later Bob was returned to his unit.
Bob remembers that by this time it was quiet due to lack of fighting. After the end of the war Bob was shipped home, as he arrived home in New York harbor they heard the news of Hiroshima and the Atomic bomb. Having earned enough points Bob was able to leave the Tenth and return to Duluth, Minnesota. He then got into Alpine skiing, at which he became the leader of the Ski Patrol for three years. Their Ski Patrol Unit remains at Spirit Mountain.
Bob has been married since before the war, they have four children. Bob and his two sons have since returned to Italy to where Bob was injured. He recalls how it used to look, foxholes everywhere. To his amazement nearly 45 years later the foxholes remain.
