Story

**Ryan B** · 09-28-2011, 04:23 AM

My moms best friend lives in frankfurt germany. His father was a very high ranking tank commander during ww2. He fought in alot of major battles on the eastern front. When he was in an engagement with soviet t-34s a russian solider came up to his tank hatch and threw a gernade into the tank. It blew up and killed everybody in the tank except for him. He had shrapnel in his legs and in his body. He escaped from the tank and walked all the way back to the german front that was about 30 miles away. He is still alive today but is in a wheel chair because of his wounds he sustained in that battle.

**Teutonicknights** · 09-28-2011, 04:25 AM

Would love to meet him

**Ryan B** · 09-28-2011, 04:26 AM

I have met him but i was like 5 so i dont remember my mom says he is a very nice guy.

**thefight** · 09-28-2011, 04:30 AM

Sounds awfully traumatic. Would be a pleasure to hear his story.

Alec

**Ryan B** · 09-28-2011, 04:36 AM

Yeah it would again hopefully i can ask my aunt to bring me on the train to frankfurt this summer because i want to see my moms friend. Hes also a very good friend of myne to i talk to him on skype maybe once a month. Maybe if i go i can meet his father again

**Wagriff** · 09-28-2011, 05:26 AM

Talk to him-Listen to his storys! Do Not wait....in the US alone, of the 16 million WWII vets, there are less than 2 million left. Over 900 die every Day now. We always thought that the WWI vets would be always remembered and what they saw and did, but now, they are All gone and already their histories are becoming legends and lost rumors. William

**Franz1944** · 09-28-2011, 05:40 AM

by Wagriff

Talk to him-Listen to his storys! Do Not wait....in the US alone, of the 16 million WWII vets, there are less than 2 million left. Over 900 die every Day now. We always thought that the WWI vets would be always be remembered and what they saw and did, but now, they are All gone and already their histories are becoming legends and lost rumors. William

That just US veterans, It now by an est. 1000 a day.

Ryan I highly encourage you to interview him. German veterans from the war are bit more neglected then US vets when it comes to interviewing (They both deserve the attention. I’ve only met one German vet so far and i regret not interviewing him. I’ve interviewed over a dozen US vets, but for me it hard to track down German vets in the US. I tracked one that lives close by and is a German cross in Gold, IC1, IC2 recipient. I will hopefully interview him in couple of weeks.

P.S my reenactment Unit is looking for German vets to interview

**Ryan B** · 09-28-2011, 01:59 PM

I will try hopefully like i said i will try to go to germany with my aunt if i go to holland this year for summer break. I also missed out on an oppertuinty to interview my great uncle who was in ww2 he died 3 months ago

**CARL** · 09-28-2011, 02:08 PM

The sad fact is that the window of opportunity is closing, as shown by the statistics above. The chance to talk to somebody involved in that period and the events of that time is something that should not be missed. In my experience, I have found only positive reactions when asking veterans to share their experiences with me. Amongst them, I remember meeting an ex-Fallschirmjager whilst on holiday in Tunisia several years ago. We wrote and spoke for quite a while and he shared many interesting stories with me. These people will not be around forever, we should cherish the opportunity to speak with them while we still can.

Regards,

Carl