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Title
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Krieger, Charles Allen
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Performer
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Charles Allen Krieger
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Interviewer
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William Vollano
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Description
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Charles Krieger, a native of Berrien County, Michigan, enlisted in the Air Force in 1942, immediately after high school. He received training in Miami Beach and Arkansas. He was eventually assigned as a tail gunner in a B-17 bomber after receiving further training in Biloxi. In the summer of 1944, he was shipped to Europe with the 413th Squadron, 96th Bomber Group. The Group began bombing runs in January 1945. By that time, the Allies had control of the skies, but there was always plenty of anti-aircraft fire. In one raid, the B-17 was so severely damaged that the pilot told everyone to bail out. This was Charles’ first jump. He was careful to not open his chute too early, because the lack of oxygen at that altitude would surely be fatal. When he did pull the ring, nothing happened. At 125 mph, he had to act quickly, so he tried several things and the chute finally opened. Charles ended up in a tree, about 15 feet from the ground. A group of German farmers with pitch-forks waited for him to get down and captured him. He was put in a small shed until they were able to turn him over to the Luftwaffe guards, who then put him in with a group of other American prisoners. They marched to Munich from Nuremberg. While the POWs were enroute, Allied planes shot and killed six POWs, because the Allies thought they were Germans. Conditions in the camp were deplorable. The camp was finally liberated in late April of 1945.
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Subject
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Enlisted; United States Army Air Forces/Corps; 96th Bomb Group, 413th Bomb Squadron; World War, 1939-1945; Second World War - European Theater; Staff Sergeant; Prisoner of War
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Collection Location
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3/5
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https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.58381
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Spatial Coverage
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Second World War - European Theater
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Date
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1942-1945
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Dates of Service
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