Anton "Bill" W. Zbasnik
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Anton "Bill" W. Zbasnik served in World War II in the European Front.
He was a POW in Germany. Mr. Zbasnik was born on February 9, 1918. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Zbasnik of Ely, Minnesota, and the brother of Gilbert Zbasnik [Basnik], who also served in World War II.
Mr. Zbasnik died on April 5, 2000.
Source: letter donated by niece; www.findagrave.com.
The following letter was donated by the niece of “Bill” Anton Zbasnik. It was written by Anton Zbasnik to his parents during wartime, recounting his unexpected reunion with his brother, Gilbert Zbasnik. Somewhere in Germany Apr. 17, 1945
"Dear Dad and Mom: This morning I wrote you about my meeting Gilbert and what a joyous meeting it was. I actually cried; I was so overjoyed. I still can’t believe it. We can thank God that he spared Gilbert for us. I can understand how you folks feel about hearing that he is safe and well. These past two days have been the happiest of my life and on top of it to actually have him stay with me. You can’t imagine how it struck me, emotionally. After I had taken him back to his station where he is quartered temporarily, I broke down in tears as I couldn’t help it. I did not show any emotion in front of him though. Dad, do you remember some time back when you said you hoped that during our drive that we would run into my own brother and free him. Well it actually happened. I will not go into detail on account of censorship but Gilbert will tell you when he gets home. All we are concerned with is that he is alive, safe and well. I never for one moment thought that he was dead. You folks need not worry about him. He lost some weight which was to be expected. Outside of that he is okay. He took it much better than the others I saw. The first news I got about him was from one of our truck drivers who told me that a fellow told him that Gilbert was over at a medical unit nearby. I rushed into the house here where we are temporarily quartered and got a jeep driver to take me to him. As I was going thru town here I see Gilbert in the rear seat of a command car sitting like a general looking all around coming the opposite way and looking for me. I immediately hailed him and hollered “Gil.” He quickly turned around and yelled “Bill.” I rushed up to him and we both hugged each other. That was the happiest moment of my life. I got into the car with him and together we went back to where he was quartered. After sitting around and chatting for a few hours I decided to ask the officer in charge of him if I could take him to my quarters. That was about 6:00 P.M. I met him around noon. The officer said it was okay. So I took him back with me to my quarters. I got him a good hot tub bath, clean fresh clothes and made him a good meal. Incidentally he hasn’t lost his appetite. After he was through eating about 9:00 P.M. I took him around and introduced him to the boys. We talked until about midnight and then I put him to bed and he had a good night’s rest. We got up at 8:00 A.M. I gave him a good breakfast and about 11:00 A.M. I took him back to his station. I didn’t want to keep him too long because they might get orders to evacuate him at any moment and I didn’t want to delay him. I had a few more words with him and finally we said goodbye and hugged each other again. I gave him a few encouraging words. On my way back I couldn’t hold back any longer, I burst into tears because I was so happy for him. I don’t know exactly what they are going to do with him. He may be placed under hospital care for a while to get examined and treated. Or they may send him to the States immediately. You definitely will see him in the near future. Anyhow the hospital and medical authorities will take care of him and you can definitely count on seeing him soon. I sure can understand how joyful you folks are. We sure “sweated” him out, didn’t we? Well it’s all over now and we can relax and thank the Almighty God. And again I say yesterday was an eventful day. As for myself I’m getting along fine. At present we are living in a beautiful apartment house. We have all the facilities. Our armies are driving harder and harder. Everything looks bright. So I’ll close now hoping and also knowing that you are all well and happy. Love Billy"
