The Library of Congress Veterans History Project Home 
Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project
Home » Bruce Donald Fenchel
 

"...Lie on your back and put your steel helmet over your face..."

{ align: 'left' }
   Bruce Donald Fenchel
Image of Bruce Donald Fenchel
Bruce Donald Fenchel, Ft. Knox, Kentucky
War: World War, 1939-1945
Branch: Army
Unit: 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, 3rd Army
Service Location: Fort Knox, Kentucky; Camp Bowie, Texas; Chippenham, England; France; Belgium; Germany; European Theater
Rank: Private First Class
Place of Birth: IA
View Full Description

Beginning at age eighteen, Bruce Fenchel fought all five of the major battles of Europe under the command of General Patton. Blasted in a tank explosion at Chaumont, he hung onto a gas truck with frozen hands long enough to be dropped at a Belgian family home and pub, where he was hidden in the attic. After fierce battles at Bastogne and the Rhine River, he witnessed terrifying sites of torture apparatus and death when his division liberated the Ohrdurf Concentration Camp.

Interview (Video)
»Interview Highlights  (1 clip)
»Complete Interview  (80 min.)
»Transcript
  Photos
»Photo Album (10 photos)
 Personal Narrative
»View Narrative
 Other Materials
»View List (2 items)
More like this
»Courage
»Voices of War
 Other Materials (2 items)
Map Highlights: Fourth Armored Division Certificate presented to Bruce Fenchel by the citizens of Utah-Beach and Sainte-Marie-du-Mont [June 20, 2000] 
  
 
Home » Bruce Donald Fenchel
  The Library of Congress  >> American Folklife Center
  October 26, 2011
  Legal | External Link Disclaimer Need Help?   
Contact Us