Everett W. Haegele
Born: August 29, 1917 in St. Louis, Missouri
Died: September 5, 2010 in Alton, Illinois Pen Name: None Connection to Illinois: Haegele lived in Alton. Biography: Everett Haegele served his country during WWII in the U.S. Army, serving with General Patton. He was a German prisoner of war and received The Purple Heart and Bronze Star. A salesman for the Auto Club of Missouri until his retirement in 1974, he was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Alton, the Alton VFW Post 1308, The NRA and the Alton Museum. The day following the infamous D-Day invasion, Haegele set sail from New York to England with the 7th Armored Division of the U.S. Army to join the Allied offensive in France. His memoir, based on a diary he kept during his German imprisonment, reveals the intimate details of army life and combat during World War II. Haegele arrived at Omaha Beach a month after the Normandy Invasion, but still witnessed the chilling aftermath of D-Day. It wasn't long before he and his comrades saw combat. The 7th Division spearheaded for the 3rd Army under General Patton, fighting through France, Belgium, and Holland. In October of 1944, Haegele and a small force of soldiers faced a German Panzer division with orders to delay them for forty-eight hours, but they were overrun and taken prisoner on October 29. Transported deep into the heart of Germany, Haegele spent nearly seven months as a POW and was liberated on May 1, 1945, by the Russian army. Full of vivid detail, Haegele's wartime memoir is a compelling, must-read account for any World War II enthusiast.
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Selected Titles
My log book of World War II : ISBN: 0595345484 OCLC: 60375906 iUniverse, New York : ©2005. Reminiscences of his experiences during World War II, and as a German prisoner of war. |