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Interviewee
Gall, Ernest
Document Type
Oral History
Date of Interview
2-17-2005
Abstract
Ernest Gall was born 13 January 1918 on a farm located eight miles outside of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. He entered the US Army in December 1942. After completing Basic Training as a heavy weapons specialist (machine gun crew), Ernest was assigned to the 28th Infantry Division and shipped to France. He arrived in June 1944, one week after the D-Day invasion of 6 June. Ernest's unit was involved in the German Ardennes offensive of December 1944, known in the United States as the Battle of the Bulge. It was during this action, on 1 January 1945, that Ernest was taken prisoner by the Germans. Ernest was at II-A Neubrandenburg, and from there was sent on a work detail near the town of Zittau, some 150 miles southeast of Berlin. Near war's end, with Soviet forces close, this work camp was evacuated; Ernest ended up near the Czech border when liberated by Soviet troops in the first days of May 1945. After repatriation to US forces, Ernest was returned to the United States and, in late 1945, discharged. Again a civilian, Ernest was married in 1946 (wife Gladys) and raised two boys. He had a career in the auto collision repair business, in St. Paul.
Copyright
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.
Recommended Citation
Saylor, Thomas, "Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Ernest Gall" (2005). Oral History Project: World War II Years, 1941-1946. 25.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/oral-history_ww2/25
PDF Transcript of Interview with Ernest Gall