Bonzelet, Fred 1907-2005

Fred Bonzelet (1907-2005) was born on a farm in South Dakota and survived drought and the Great Depression before being inducted into the Army Air Corps in Fort Snelling (Minnesota).

He served as an Ordnance Sergeant with the 33rd Fighter Squadron in Iceland, England, France, and Germany. During a brief stint as a medic, Bonzelet was shot in the leg, earning a Purple Heart. After the war, he was a carpenter and bartender and he worked for nine years at a nuclear plant in Washington before relocating to Madison, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

From the description of Oral history interview with Fred Bonzelet, [sound recording], 2004. (Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center). WorldCat record id: 466400179