World War II veteran recalls his service near Memorial Day | Local News

PELLA — Edgar Willers' War ended 79 years ago, but the memories remain strong to this day.

Willers, 98, was drafted to fight in World War II immediately after graduating from high school at Grinnell. As a soldier in the United States Army, he was assigned to the 9th Armored Division as an assistant driver on a Sherman tank. He was sent to fight at the Battle of Remagen in March 1945, where he and his crew held a unique place in history.

Three days before Memorial Day, Willers returned.

“We were the first tank to cross the Rhine and the way those tanks crossed – you see, the bridge blew up – and we crossed on pontoon bridges,” Willers said. “A 65-ton tank crossing on a pontoon.”

The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen was one of the few remaining bridges across the Rhine at the end of the war. Crossing it would take the United States further into the heart of Nazi Germany. Knowing this, the Germans defended the site tirelessly and bombarded it to render it unusable. Their work made it possible to make the bridge impassable for armored vehicles.

“We could walk on it, yes, walking here, walking here and walking here, but it's the only way,” Willers said. “We have a board here and a barbell there, with 90 pounds on our back.”

After the crossing, Willers and his comrades moved down the river to where General George S. Patton had crossed and led the advance deeper into Germany. By then the Germans were surrendering in their thousands. Many of them were children.

“During the last two weeks of the war, we were taking German prisoners [that were] 14 years old. Pants legs rolled up here, cuffs rolled up here, crying,” Willers said, pointing to his shins and forearms. “Well, they were just kids.”

According to Willers, the boys thought they were going to be killed. Instead, the Americans took pity on them.

“We just took them home,” Willers said. “We didn’t just send them home; we took them home.

Shortly after, the war ended.

“The happiest day of the war was that of the capitulation of the German army. We heard this in our headphones: 'The war in Germany is over, the German army has surrendered,'” Willers said. “Everyone jumped out of their tanks and grabbed the first woman they found on the street, and the tank company commander said, 'Get back in those tanks immediately,' so everyone jumped in tanks. Everyone was happy it was over.

Willers returned home to Grinnell on leave, hoping to be deployed to the Pacific. Fortunately, he then received news of Japan's surrender. The war was truly over. Shortly after, during another leave, he met his future wife, Doris. They remain married 75 years later.

But even though Memorial Day will be a day of national remembrance and parades, Willers says he will spend the day quietly.

“For me, it’s just another day, because we’ll be here.” We're not going anywhere to celebrate or anything. I'm in no state to celebrate,” Willers said. “But you know, a person always thinks about it… you always think about it.”