As a young boy, Jim Sharp read about the growing strength of the Nazi’s in Germany – little did he know, he’d one day come face to face with them.

“When I was a boy growing up in Morris county down by White City, I was interested in history and everyday my job was to ride by pony to the mailbox and pick up the [mail]; and back in those days it was full of information about Adolf Hitler..and his troops invading these countries in Europe,” said Sharp.

Sharp was a combat infantryman with the 1st Infantry Division when his Company Commander recommended the young soldier to work as a guard in the trials of Nazi leaders.

“This was a trial being conducted that had never been conducted before,” said Sharp noting that when he was selected to work as a guard, that it was an important moment in history. “I spent seven months there and it was a very interesting part of history.”

Sharp worked as Sergeant of the Guard at the Nuremberg trials at the Palace of Justice. Top Nazi leaders, both civilian and military, stood trial.

Sharp kept a diary for the two years he served in the Army, that included his time in Germany. His journals would later create books such as Diary of a Combat Infantryman and Sergeant of the Guard at Nuremberg.

Sharp will speak at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene on Thursday, September 29th as part of the World War II Remembered:  Leaders, Battles & Heroes exhibit on display until December 31, 2016.