Although Ted enlisted in his home state of South Dakota, he was sent as a replacement to Company A, 143rd Infantry, 36th Division of Texas. He was protrayed in the movie, "A Walk In The Sun."

The 36th was picked to spearhead the Fifth Army on invading Italy. On 9 Sep 1943 they did an assault landing on the beach at Salerno Italy at dawn. Salerno was one of the bloodier, more critical operations of the Second World War and there were 12 days of combat at the beachhead.

The 36th had landed at Paestum on the Gulf of Salerno, where resistance was light as the Germans had concentrated further down the beach. The soldiers of the 36th wondered if the War was over as they moved forward. That is why the movie is named, "A Walk in the Sun." But it was a mere rest before the realities of war hit them hard.

Theodore Ward (1920)