NORMANDY, France — Centenarian Les Schrenk doesn’t have time for his usual water aerobics in the morning or bike rides in the afternoon this week.
That’s because the World War II veteran is more than 4,000 miles away from his home in Bloomington, making his first-ever visit to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Daywhich he spent in a German prisoner of war camp.
“I’m having the time of my life right now. I don’t even have time to think about the people at home,” Schrenk said. “It’s a very moving event.”
On Tuesday, Schrenk joined dozens of other World War II veterans for a ceremony near the First Infantry Memorial. Down the hill from the monument is a German bunker made of reinforced concrete. It is the place where German soldiers are said to have barricaded themselves and shot Allied soldiers storming across Omaha Beach.
It reminded Schrenk of an earlier trip to Europe, where he met Hans Herman Muller, the German pilot who shot down his plane just weeks before D-Day.
Muller had the opportunity to fire a second fatal shot that would likely have killed Schrenk and his crew, but never did so, choosing to let them live. Decades later the men met and became friends.
“That was the encounter of a lifetime. Former enemies tried to kill each other. Unbelievable,” Schrenk said.
Now Schrenk is paying respect to his fellow American soldiers who never got the chance to return home. He collected sand from Omaha Beach, a memento he will take back to Minnesota as a reminder of the sacrifices made on this coast.
“Everything amazes me. I can’t put it into words,” he said.
Schrenk will be joined in Normandy by Jim Rasmussen, a 100-year-old World War II veteran from East Bethel.
