William David Arnold Sr. let go of the horrors of World War II whenever he grabbed a fishing pole at a peaceful Missouri lake.

The 85-year-old South Side man died Sunday as a member of the Greatest Generation - after a life partially spent amid war, but also in fixing broken engines and spending holidays with family.

Mr. Arnold, whom family members said was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, served in both France and Italy during the war. He suffered shrapnel wounds in his back during the 1944 Anzio beach invasion in Italy while he and his unit engaged a Nazi pillbox. The fierce battle involved machine gun fire, mortar rounds and a German tank.

"They were trying to take the tank out," said John Arnold, a son.

"The Germans were pretty well shooting them up," said Bill Arnold Jr., another son. "They (comrades) thought he was dead. The bullets were hitting his helmet and splintering down his back."

Their father was awarded the Purple Heart for his service at Anzio. Historians regard the Allied campaign, begun in January in the resort town about 35 miles south of Rome, as among the most desperate and controversial of the war. Some believe the Anzio campaign was overshadowed by the later D-Day landings in France.

The wounds in Mr. Arnold's back would fester.

"They got most of it out," Bill said of surgery to remove the shrapnel.

Stories of his time in the military were handed down by his late wife, Mary, to the children. He gave up using all weapons after the war and preferred fishing over hunting. He almost never spoke of his experiences in the war.

"You almost had to pry them (stories) out of him," said John.

His father found himself without an occupation once the war ended. "At that time, jobs were pretty hard to get," Mr. Arnold said.

His work career included more than 25 years spent at Armour Meat Processing & Terminal Warehouse in St. Joseph. He also worked at the Carnation plant.

After a typical day at work, Mr. Arnold enjoyed relaxing or tinkering around the house.

"He was pretty quiet ... pretty much to himself," Bill said. "He was very mechanical. He liked working on engines and fixing things."

He also enjoyed fishing at such destinations as Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks.

According to John, his father also enjoyed watching old Westerns on television and musical stars such as Tom Jones.

Sister-in-law Sally Tietz said Mr. Arnold "loved his family" and also enjoyed fixing lawn mowers or anything else with an engine.

Ray Scherer can be reached

at rscherer@npgco.com.