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Last Name: ` WANN	First Name Middle Initial: RICHARD L		Nick Name: Dick
Street: 10224 N MEADOW WOOD LN	City & State: ELWOOD, IN		E-Mail:
Zip: 46036-8865	Phone: [765] 552 3739		Spouse: Ruth
Conflict: WWII	Service Branch: Army Air Corp		Unit: 446th Bomb Goup
Theater:	Where Captured: Near Zweibrucken,		Date Captured: 02/03/45
Camps Held In: ZWEIBRUCKEN HEPPENHEIM			How Long Interned: 52 days
liberated / repatriated: liberated	Date Liberated: 03/27/45		Age at Capture: 24
Medals Received: PURPLE HEART,PRISONER OF WAR
Military Job: Pilot B-24 Liberator		Company: Firestone Tire & Rubber Akron OH. (30 years)
Occupation after War: Engineer

Military Bio:

Aircraft was shot down by flak on misson to Magdeburg, Germany on Feburary 3rd, 1945. We lost 3 engines and traded altitude for distance while fuel was lost from left wing fuel tank. I bailed out in Vosges Mountain area near Zweibrucken, landed in no-man land. I evaded capture for 7 days with a broken ankle, fractured back, and frozen feet. Finally I was captured by SS Troops and was severely mis-treated while imprisoned in Zweibrucken and Heppenheim. We were liberated on March 27, 1945 by the 7th Army.

My Message to Future Generations:

“Keep the faith in all adversarial conditions by thinking of survival as the only revenge against the enemy.” Richard used the GI Bill after leaving the Military at Purdue University and became an Industrial Engineer.