George Cornelius Hoffman Jr. was born on April 18, 1924 in Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky. He grew up during the Great Depression, a period that shaped many young Americans who would later serve in World War II. Before entering the Army, he worked for AT&T (Ohio Bell Telephone Company) in Lockland, Ohio. Like many young men of his generation, he left civilian life in response to the nation's call to arms following the attack on Pearl Harbor. George registered for the draft shortly after his eighteenth birthday in 1942 and enlisted in the Army March 3, 1943 at Fort Thomas, Newport, Kentucky. His Army Serial Number, 35790752, identifies him as an enlisted soldier inducted through the Fifth Service Command, which included Kentucky and neighboring states. He joined Company C, 137th Infantry Regiment as a Rifleman from the 41st Replacement Battalion on July 12, 1944 when the unit was at Le Meauffe, France and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge August 1, 1944. He was wounded by a booby trap detonation on August 19, 1944 in the vicinity of Orleans, France and returned to duty September 29, 1944. He was wounded again by artillery shell blast fragments in the vicinity of Fonteny, France on November 11, 1944 and returned to duty December 4, 1944. On December 18, 1944, he was readmitted to the Army hospital for further treatment of his shell fragment wounds and dropped from assignment to the 137th Infantry Regiment.