Hans Meijer
Hans's mother and father raised Hans in Berlin. His father was a combat veteran of the First War and always taught Hans to respect his country. Growing up in school, he was one of the most patriotic boys in his class. He always thought of himself as a soldier, the way his father was. With the start of the war, Hans began to think about where he wanted to be in the military. He thought the Me109s were cool, and Germany's Panzers could not be beaten, but those did not appeal to him. He wanted to be a frontschweine as his father was.
His father's views differed from his. His father knew how awful combat was and he didn't want to subject Hans to the horrors of combat. He refused to let him join. When Hans turned 18, he told his parents he was going to his girlfriend's house. He instead went to the recruitment station. Soon Grenadier Hans was waving goodbye to an upset family as his train pulled out of the station.
Meijer was put into the 984. Grenadier Regiment in France and was soon in the thick of combat in Normandy. He quickly realized why his father had not wanted him to join as his friend lay in pieces beside him one sunny June day. He knew he had only one option though. He had to do anything he could to survive. When the unit would dig in, Hans dug deeper and faster than any other soldat could. His friend Bodo Fehrmann began referring to him as a mole.
Getting out of Normandy unscathed, Meijer and his kameraden were sent into the Hurtgen Forest. They continued to battle in some of the most deadly fighting they had been in. Still, Meijer remained untouched. Even as Winter began to set in and many of his comrades were dead or wearing wound badges, he had yet to receive a bullet in combat. He constantly wrote his father to let him know he was okay. He never got any return; maybe the postal services were having trouble in Berlin.
As the sun fell one frozen day in December, Hans was returning to their trenches with the rest of the patrol. Suddenly they came into contact with a patrol of GIs. Shots rang out from both sides. One of his kameraden fell beside him. Hans threw himself into the dirt. He was caught between his own men's positions and the American positions. As the shooting came to a stop, it became apparent the rest of his patrol, thinking Meijer was dead, had retreated. Hans stood with his hands raised. He was searched and sent back to American lines. He remained the rest of the war in a POW camp in England.
He returned back to Germany a year after the war ended to find his entire family alive and well. His father revealed the news that their local post office had, in fact, been destroyed in a bombing raid.
His father's views differed from his. His father knew how awful combat was and he didn't want to subject Hans to the horrors of combat. He refused to let him join. When Hans turned 18, he told his parents he was going to his girlfriend's house. He instead went to the recruitment station. Soon Grenadier Hans was waving goodbye to an upset family as his train pulled out of the station.
Meijer was put into the 984. Grenadier Regiment in France and was soon in the thick of combat in Normandy. He quickly realized why his father had not wanted him to join as his friend lay in pieces beside him one sunny June day. He knew he had only one option though. He had to do anything he could to survive. When the unit would dig in, Hans dug deeper and faster than any other soldat could. His friend Bodo Fehrmann began referring to him as a mole.
Getting out of Normandy unscathed, Meijer and his kameraden were sent into the Hurtgen Forest. They continued to battle in some of the most deadly fighting they had been in. Still, Meijer remained untouched. Even as Winter began to set in and many of his comrades were dead or wearing wound badges, he had yet to receive a bullet in combat. He constantly wrote his father to let him know he was okay. He never got any return; maybe the postal services were having trouble in Berlin.
As the sun fell one frozen day in December, Hans was returning to their trenches with the rest of the patrol. Suddenly they came into contact with a patrol of GIs. Shots rang out from both sides. One of his kameraden fell beside him. Hans threw himself into the dirt. He was caught between his own men's positions and the American positions. As the shooting came to a stop, it became apparent the rest of his patrol, thinking Meijer was dead, had retreated. Hans stood with his hands raised. He was searched and sent back to American lines. He remained the rest of the war in a POW camp in England.
He returned back to Germany a year after the war ended to find his entire family alive and well. His father revealed the news that their local post office had, in fact, been destroyed in a bombing raid.
