Why we remember a German Officer on Memorial Day

My father-in-law was a German officer during World War II. Now before you assume all German soldiers were Nazis, I have a story to tell you.

The Americans were not the only ones to fight a brutal enemy during World War II. The Germans fought on the Russian front and the Russians were a formidable and calculating opponent; not lacking in their own brand of cruelty.

My father-in-law fought on the Russian front. He fought in subzero temperatures, he fought after being shot five times, he witnessed unspeakable cruelty. When he would tell us is wartime stories I could hardly listen to the atrocities that he described.

As Germany fell to the Americans, the Americans found they had a new concern on a new front, the Russian front. The division of territories following World War II, NATO and the Warsaw Pact created a need for the American military to have more information about this Soviet Superpower.

They needed someone who knew the landscape, the people, and the nature of the battle there. My father-in-law became one of the people who could give them that information.

He assisted the American army in providing intelligence invaluable in their understanding of the Russians/Soviet Union.

My father-in-law taught the Americans and they rewarded him with a new home, helping provide safe passage to the United States of America. He was always very proud of the fact that he became an American and reminded his sons to maintain that pride. He held no hate for the Russians either, although he fought them as a group, he showed mercy and kindness in individual situations. He also married a beautiful, young Russian women.

Soldiers in all wars have families and make sacrifices. Sometimes the enemy lines are not as clear-cut as we would like them to be. So today, we honor and remember this German soldier who helped the Americans during World War II. Have a blessed Memorial Day and God bless America!!