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Today's Poll!Local veteran shares experience as a prisoner of war during World War II
Local veteran Ralph Kalberloh, a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Forces, was held in a German prison camp during World War II.
Monday, January 16, 2012
With a sense of duty and patriotism signifying the character of those coming of age during World War II, local resident Ralph Kalberloh was honored to answer the call to service during a time of war.
And in spite of circumstances which later found him detained in an enemy prison camp, Kalberloh asserts his experiences have given him a unique perspective on the true costs of freedom.
“During the (Second World War), I probably could have gotten a farm deferment, but at that time no one wanted to avoid the war,” said Kalberloh.
Growing up on a farm near Hardin, Kalberloh left high school after his junior year to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces — much to the disappointment of his mother.
The veteran said, “I knew I would be drafted … and I thought it would be better to fly than to walk and sleep in a foxhole.”
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