World War II
First-hand accounts of what it was like to serve in WWII.
Episodes
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World War II Shorts:
Servicing Submarines
A number of relatives in Minnesotan Bill Olson’s family joined the Navy during World War 2, including an uncle who died while serving. When it came time for Olson to join the military, he chose the Navy, too. His assignment was working on the relief crew of a submarine tender to help keep U.S. submarines in tip-top shape during the war.
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The Amphibian
When Bruce Cottington enlisted in 1942, he joined the Navy, but was later assigned to a new Marine Corps unit called the Amphibians. The unit fought on land and sea, and Cottington prepared battle sites in the Pacific during World War 2. (The amphibian unit was the precursor to the Navy SEALS.)
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War is Hell
Many of the young Americans who signed up to fight in World War 2 were initially swept away by their patriotism and a passion for their cause and eager to go to war. Once on the battlefield, they found the reality of combat to be far more horrific than they could possibly have imagined. It’s one of the reasons veterans of the World War 2 generation have been reluctant to share their memories.
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The Personnel Officer
Not every member of the armed services saw combat, but many jobs that were not on the front lines were critical to the US effort to win the war. Jeanne Bearmon who served in the Women’s Army Corps (or WAC) explains the sensitive work that she was assigned to as a World War 2 personnel officer.
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The Belated Gift
During World War 2, Minnesotan Walter Grotz was shot down over Germany and then shipped to a Polish POW camp. More than 60 years after he was released, he returned as an honored dignitary when the site was dedicated as a war memorial and was presented with the gift of a sculpture of a US aviator to honor all American veterans.
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World War II Shorts:
The Deadly March
Walter Grotz was drafted and entered military service just one week after he graduated from Delano High School. He flew raids in a B-24 until he was shot down over Germany and sent to a POW camp in Poland. Later, the Germans marched Grotz and his fellow American prisoners to Berlin, a harsh 520 mile journey.