On June 1st, 1941, Orrin Carpenter enlisted in the U.S. Army. In 1942, he was assigned to Company A of the 15thBattalion. Between his assignment to the 15th Battalion and his death, Orin was reassigned to the headquarters company of the 29thInfantry Division. Before being sent overseas, Carpenter was stationed at Fort McClellan, AL., Camp Maxie, TX., and Camp Swift, TX.
Operation Overlord
The 29th Division, also known as the Blue and Gray Division, was sent to England in September of 1942, aboard the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth liners. While in England and anticipating orders, The Division trained for the invasion of northern Europe.
The 29th Infantry Division joined the 1st Division to assault Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The 29th Headquarters unit arrived on Omaha Beach later that evening. The 116th Infantry Regiment penetrated enemy forces, along with the help of the 115th Infantry Regiment the following day. By June 9th, the Division occupied Isigny, France. The Division continued to advance and captured Saint-Lo on July 18th, 1944. On August 25th, 1944, the 29th Division and two other divisions were ordered to seize the Port of Brest in Brittany, France.
September 1944, the Division transferred from Brittany to southern Holland. They entered Germany on October 1st, 1944. The 116th Infantry joined the 30th Division to capture Aachen, Germany.
On November 16th, 1944, the Division joined as a component of the Ninth Army to capture the Rhineland by Christmas that year. When the First Army was surprised by meeting the German Ardennes offenses on December 16th, 1944, the 29th Division of the Ninth Army raced to their defense. On February 23rd, 1945, captured the German city of Jülich. March 1, 1945, the 29th Division seized Munich-Gladbach, and crossed the Rhine River on March 31st. On May 2, the 175th Infantry met Soviet soldiers on the Elbe River. On May 7th, 1945, Nazi Germany collapsed, concluding the war in Europe.