Gerald Engelsgjerd
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Not Available
The following story was taken from an interview conducted by Miss Megan Engelsgjerd, a student at Ordean Middle School and granddaughter of Mr. Gereald Lenard Engelsgjerd. The narrative tells the story of Engelsgjerd’s experience as a child during World War II.
Mr. Engelsgjerd lived in Western Nebraska in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was seven years old at this time.
There was an air base in their town and his family rented rooms in their home to soldiers and their wives.
His grandparent’s adopted son fought in Europe during the war. He also had a cousin that fought in Germany at the end of the war. The war was not discussed much at school, but airplanes flew over the town often.
During Pearl Harbor, Engelsgjerd was with his grandma in the Black Hills. They found out about Pearl Harbor from the radio in the car. He remembers worrying about his sister a lot because she was only one year old.
He had the chance to get to know a lot of soldiers and their wives that lived with them during the war. He was able to watch parachutists jump out of airplanes. He also remembers a lot of rationing of food and gasoline. His family was unable to take trips, because there was no gas for the car. Their car was very old and no cars were being made during that time.
