Loading...
Interviewee
Woehrle, Charles
Document Type
Oral History
Date of Interview
5-17-2004
Abstract
Charles Woehrle was born 28 September 1916, in Nashua, Iowa, one of six children. He grew up in Minnesota, graduated from Pine City High School in 1933, and then attended the University of Minnesota. In January 1942, Charles enlisted in the Army Air Corps with the hope of becoming a pilot. He instead was trained as a bombardier for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, and by April 1943 was stationed in England, a member of the 8th Air Force, 509th Squadron, 351st Bomb Group stationed at Polebrook, in North Hamptonshire, England. On the 29 May 1943, on a mission to St. Nazaire, a coastal port in France, his plane was shot down over the water. Of the ten-man crew, six survived. Over the next twenty-three months, Charles spent time in Stalag Luft III, at Sagan, and then, near war's end, at overcrowded Stalag VII-A Moosburg, in Bavaria. This camp was liberated by advancing American forces on 29 April 1945. Charles was returned to the United States in May 1945, and discharged before the end of the year. He was married in June 1945 (wife Elizabeth).
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 - Charles Woehrle" (2004). Oral History Project: World War II Years, 1941-1946. 84.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/oral-history_ww2/84
PDF Transcript of Interview with Charles Woehrle