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Concordia - World War II Years, 1941-1946 Oral History Project

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Concordia - Oral History Project: World War II Years, 1941-1946

Les Schrenk - Part 1

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Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Les Schrenk

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Title	Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Les Schrenk
Interviewee	Schrenk, Lester
Description	Dr. Thomas Saylor, historian and professor of history at Concordia University, Saint Paul, interviewed numerous civilians, service veterans, and prisoners of war for his books, Remembering the Good War: Minnesota's Greatest Generation and Long Hard Road: American POWs During World War II. Between 2001 and 2005, over 170 interviews were conducted for this project and recorded on cassette tape. This collection is the product of a preservation project to digitize the interviews for continued future accessibility. This project has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.
Abstract	Les Schrenk was born on a farm in Long Prairie, Minnesota, on 16 November 1923. One of three children, he grew up on the farm. Les enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in November 1942. After completing Basic Training, Les was trained as a ball turret gunner on B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine heavy bombers. By early 1944, Les was flying missions from England with the 327th Bomb Squadron, 92nd Bomb Group, part of the 8th Air Force. On 22 February 1944, during a mission to Germany, Les' B-17 was shot down over German-occupied Denmark, and he was captured. After interrogation at the central Dulag Luft facility, Les spent time in Stalag Luft VI Heydekrug and Stalag Luft IV Gross Tychow. When The Germans evacuated Luft IV on 6 February 1945, more than eight thousand POWs were marched out in groups, towards Germany. For Les, this meant eighty-six days on the road before being liberated by advancing British troops on 2 May 1945. With other liberated men, Les was evacuated to France, then to the United States. He spent some time recovering from his POW ordeal before being discharged later in 1945. Again a civilian, Les returned to Minnesota, was married in 1948 (wife Bernice), and remained a resident of Long Prairie.
Interviewer	Saylor, Thomas, 1958-
Date of Interview	2005-02-18
General Subject	World War, 1939-1945; Prisoners and prisons, German; Concentration camps, Europe; Prisoners of war; Personal narratives; Oral history; US Army; Army Air Force; Dulag Luft; Stalag Luft VI; Stalag Luft IV;
Coverage	1941-1946
Type	Sound; Text
Rights	All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without the written permission of Concordia University Library or Thomas Saylor, Department of History, Concordia University, St. Paul.

Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Les Schrenk

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