Snapshots of WWII — Episode 2: Crossing the Atlantic & Arriving in England

This episode felt different for us.

Not because of one single moment, but because of the feeling underneath all of it—what it must have meant for our grandfather to leave everything familiar behind and cross an ocean into the unknown.

In Episode 2 of Snapshots of WWII, we follow the 357th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment across the Atlantic aboard the HMT Dominion Monarch, from New York to Liverpool in April 1944, and into the early days of training in England.

Leaving Home, Quietly Becoming Someone New

We keep coming back to the same image: the shoreline disappearing behind the ship.

Our grandfather was a combat medic, and while most of the men were trying to steady themselves through fear, seasickness, and exhaustion, he was already tending to others. That detail makes him feel so present to us in this part of the story—carrying responsibility long before combat ever began.

There’s something humbling about realizing how young he was, and how much he had already been asked to hold.

The Human Side of the Crossing

We included firsthand accounts from WWII veteran Warren R. Kahler, whose memories of cramped conditions, seasickness, and the chaos of convoy travel helped us understand just how grueling the Atlantic crossing really was—even when records call it “uneventful.”

We also shared a family memory from our dad, recalling one of our grandfather’s submarine drill stories. Hearing it in his voice brought everything closer. It turned history into something we could feel inside our own family.

Arrival in England

When the troops reached Liverpool, they stepped into a city still scarred by war but still standing. From there, they moved inland to training camps near Kidderminster, where preparation for combat truly began.

Long marches. Field medicine drills. Amphibious training. Endless preparation for something they still couldn’t fully see ahead.

D-Day was coming—but not yet.

What This Episode Means to Us

This chapter made our grandfather feel even more real to us.

Not just as a name in records or a figure in photographs—but as a young man crossing an ocean, doing his duty quietly, and trying to take care of the men around him while likely carrying his own fear too.

There’s a tenderness in that realization we didn’t expect.

And it’s part of why we’re doing this at all.

We’re not just retracing history—we’re getting to know him.