Frederick M. Wald, a Marinette, Wisconsin native, discusses his career in the Air Force, including being held as a German prisoner of War during World War II. Wald talks about enlisting in the Air Corps in 1941 and being based at Tyndall Field (Florida) when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. He mentions being rejected for pilot and glider training, graduating from gunnery school and aerial gunners' armament school, and having repeated complications with outdated medical records. In Boise (Idaho), Wald discusses forming a flight crew, flying a B-24 to Europe, and assignment to the 392nd Bomb Group, 578th Bomb Squadron, 8th Air Force based in Wendling (England). He details being shot down on his second mission: losing three of four engines, the failure of the bailout alarm, and having no memory of his jump. After regaining consciousness in a French farmhouse, he talks about being sheltered by the French resistance for two weeks before being captured by the Gestapo. Wald talks being moved from the jail in Rouen to Luftwaffe headquarters in Paris, staying in the Rennes prison, and being held in solitary confinement in Frankfurt (Germany). He portrays being interrogated, including hearing he was a traitor, being scared by witnessing dummy executions, having beard hairs yanked out, and getting beaten with rubber hoses. Wald reports on the clothes he was issued, having good food at the interrogation camps, and being shipped to Stalag Luft VI (Heydekrug, East Prussia) in an overcrowded boxcar. He portrays the compound and states the British and Canadian prisoners shared their Red Cross packages with the Americans, who didn't have their own. Wald details the insufficient food rations and his resultant weight loss. After hearing the approach of the Russians, he tells of being evacuated by overcrowded ship to Swinemünde. Sent to Stalag Luft IV (Tychowo, Poland), Wald talks about being evacuated several months later to Nuremberg (Germany), where the prisoners were vulnerable to shrapnel from frequent Allied bombings. He talks about finding other prisoners in the camps who were from Marinette (Wisconsin). Evacuated again, to Moosberg, he comments on being liberated by the 14th Armored Division, getting sick from eating rich food, and being flown to Le Havre (France). Wald touches on being interrogated, having to drink a canteen of eggnog every day, receiving money, and returning to the United States. After the war, he speaks of reenlisting in the Air Force, assignment to Andrews Field (Washington, D.C), and transfer to Salina (Kansas). Wald speaks of flying B-29s until an airplane malfunction gave him a fear of flying. He describes volunteering for duty in Japan, duty loading airplane ordnance, and being frustrated by the lack of promotion opportunities. Scheduled for discharge a week before the Korean War started, Wald states he reenlisted for a bonus since he would have been involuntarily extended anyway. Assigned to Nellis Air Force Base (Las Vegas), he states that the activation of National Guardsmen flooded the promotion slots. He discusses his assignments to and housing in Kaufbeuren and Hahn (Germany). Wald talks about having troubles with superior officers who wanted to court martial him. He mentions graduating from aircraft mechanic school and flying C-1 Constellations in Massachusetts. He discusses joining veterans' groups and the importance of the actions of the DAV and Ex-POW organization to secure veterans' benefits. Wald reflects on the long-term health effects from his time as a prisoner of war, including knee problems, frostbite, and gastrointestinal issues.
