Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Will Gehlen

Vietnam | French Foreign Legion

Will Gehlen, a German member of the French Foreign Legion, relates the tale of his imprisonment by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu. (8:26)
Will Gehlen describes life in the Rhineland during the rise of the Third Reich and what it was like on the German home front and the attitude and feelings of the German civilians during the war and after the defeat. (German Home Front, Part 1/2) (9:38)
Will Gehlen tells how and why he joined the French Foreign Legion after the end of World War II and why the Legion was so attractive to Germans in the wreckage of their homeland. (10:51)
As the war was winding down, Will Gehlen crossed American and German lines to get to his grandfather's funeral in Luxembourg. With the Americans fully in control, civilians began to know the GIs as friends and protectors rather than adversaries. (Post-war Interactions with Allied Soldiers, Part 2/2) (8:42)
Fighting for the French Foreign Legion in Indochina, Will Gehlen relates his experiences during the battle of Dien Bien Phu, in which he was wounded and captured by the Viet Minh. (11:28)
Pressed into service on a flak gun crew, Will Gehlen, a boy at the time, describes the technology used to battle Allied planes and the routine of life on the crew. (The Flak Guns, Part 1/2) (9:40)
As the war was winding down, Will Gehlen crossed American and German lines to get to his grandfather's funeral in Luxembourg. With the Americans fully in control, civilians began to know the GIs as friends and protectors rather than adversaries. (Post-war Interactions with Allied Soldiers, Part 1/2) (12:32)
As a messenger on a German flak gun crew, Will Gehlen's job was to deliver messages from the spotters to the gunners. This exposed him to fire from the diving fighter bombers. (2:52)
Will Jasmund

WWII | Headquarters and Service Company, 158th Engineer Combat Battalion

His brother had already been drafted and he gave Will Jasmund this advice about going into the Army, don't get sent to Texas and don't get assigned to the engineers. Never one to agree with his big brother, he wanted both. He was anxious to go, but first he had to break the news to his parents. (This interview made possible with the support of RICHARD MCDONALD) (5:20)
Will Jasmund was on a train with no idea where he was going. A corporal told the young inductees that they would soon be able to say they had seen Paris. That caused some raised eyebrows but they were soon in the plains of Texas training for an engineer battalion. France would have to wait a bit. (This interview made possible with the support of RICHARD MCDONALD) (4:33)