Earl F Schenck
POW WWII-Germany
Red Bull 34th DIV
Earl Schenck enlisted in the United States Army in 1941 and was assigned to the 34th Division, 168th Infantry, Company F in Villisca, Iowa. The 34th Division is known as the “Red Bull Division.” Earls military career began at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, he then traveled to Ft. Dix, New Jersey where he married Genny on February 3rd, 1942. He left New York harbor by troop ship on April 30th, 1942 for Great Britain. After training in Ireland and England (his unit, Company F, was reviewed by the Queen of England.)
In the months following, they shipped out for North Africa landing in Algiers on November 8th, 1942. According to his diary, they landed at 01:00 and not a shot was fired until 02:00. The beach was so quiet they didn’t know what to think. He reports that the Navy landed them 7 miles down beach so it took a while to get oriented.
After a see-saw battle at Sened Station, the 168th Infantry found itself defending the hills overlooking Faid-Kasserine Pass. On February 18th, 1943 the 168th was captured by Rommel and taken to Prisoner of War camps in Germany.
On April 27, 1945 Cpl Earl Schenk was liberated. He passed away June 18, 1989.
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