World War II
First-hand accounts of what it was like to serve in WWII.
Episodes
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World War II Shorts:
The P.O.W.’s Bond
Claude Williams, pictured here in 2014, was shot down while on a bombing run over Belguim and held as a prisoner of war by the Germans. Williams was held in a POW camp in Barth, Germany, kept with 19 other men in one small room. The friendships formed in those close quarters lasted long after the war was over.
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The WAC Recruiter
After joining the Women’s Army Corps, WAC Jeanne Bearmon was assigned to helping to recruit other women to join the military. Because women had never officially served in a U.S war before World War 2, it was quite a challenge to educate female recruits and the public about the contributions that women were needed to make.
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The Advocate
After Bernie Lieder completed his Army service on the front lines in the European theater in World War 2, he came home to Minnesota and his history of service continued. Lieder went on to be elected to the Minnesota legislature, where he was the last serving WW2 vet and championed veterans causes, including the sponsoring the bill that established the state’s WW2 memorial at the State Capitol, pictured here.
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The Prisoner of War
Lester Schrenk was just 19 years old when he was shot down while flying a combat mission over Germany. The valiant young Minnesota endured brutal conditions in a German prison camp that almost cost him his life.
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The Military Musician
Growing up in Minnesota, Herbert Gager learned to play many instruments and loved playing in bands. When he began his military service in the Marines, he played in a military band. But Gager had to give up playing music when he was assigned to be a stretcher-bearer in battles in the Pacific theater. He was injured and earned the Purple Heart.
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Trying to Forget
Post traumatic stress disorder had not been identified yet in the World War 2 era. Many returning soldiers struggled and often suffered in silence. Veterans Axel Holmes, Gerbert Gager and George Vandersluis talk about their efforts to put the difficult and sometimes traumatic memories of war behind them after they returned home to Minnesota.