Battle of the Bulge - Oklahoma WWII

“It’s the most difficult period of your life”

November 7th

Pendleton Woods remembers that he was in his dormitory at the University of Arkansas when somebody rushed down the hall and said that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. “We didn’t know what Pearl Harbor was,” he recalled, “and then we began listening to the radio, and that’s when it really hit us.”

Within hours the United States was entering World War II and by 1942 Woods had signed up for the Army Reserve. He remained stateside for about two years, but wound up in Germany, on the Belgian front, by October, 1944. Woods was there just in time for the Battle of the Bulge, but he missed most of the fighting.

On December 10, 1944, while on patrol behind German lines, Woods and seven others were cut off and surrounded by a German unit. Their squad leader was killed, another person was wounded, and the group of Americans was captured. So began Pen Woods’ 5-month ordeal as a prisoner of war.

The captives did what they could to stay warm, sharing one blanket to keep their feet warm, and huddling together in a boxcar on the way to a German prison camp. Woods spent 8 days on the boxcar, where he “celebrated” his 21st birthday. He spent Christmas of 1944 inside the walls of a German prison camp before being transported to a labor camp, where conditions were somewhat better.

Woods remembers that a soldier who had served time in a Pennsylvania penitentiary, Red Martin, taught him how to steal. “Red Martin and I had honest faces,” said Woods, “and when we’d steal stuff we’d blouse our trousers into our combat boots and put food there. The armpit is also good. You’d be surprised at how much food you can put under your armpit and get away with it.”

Martin gave Woods a nickname, “Steal ‘Em Blind Woods.” According to Woods, the name was a real compliment. “Don’t laugh,” he told me, “because that would be like Babe Ruth or Joe Louis calling you slugger, or in academic circles, it would be like an honorary degree. The nickname I got I got from a professional.”

(above) Corporal Pendleton Woods during World War II.

Woods finally escaped on Hitler’s birthday, April 20th, during Russian artillery fire that had the Germans pre-occupied. After five days, Woods and the others linked up with American soldiers near the Elbe River. Ironically, Woods’ prison bunkmate was Clarence Deal, who lives in Jones, Oklahoma. “Every day on April 20th, for some 60-odd years now,” said Woods, “I will call my prison bunkmate, or he will call me, wishing each other “Happy Hitler’s Birthday,” because that’s the day we got away from that prison camp.”

Woods believes that Germany’s biggest problem in the war was attacking Russia, because it forced the Nazis into a multi-front war. The Germans and Russians hated each other, he recalls, and Russian prisoners were treated ten times worse than Americans were treated in the prisoner-of-war camps.

Woods doesn’t watch many movies, but he has watched the famous prisoner-of-war movie, Stalag 17. “I thought it was phony,” Woods told me. “In Stalag 17 they made the Germans look stupid, but they weren’t stupid, they were smart. Stalag 17 was not real at all. If they do it real it doesn’t make much of a movie. It’s the most difficult period of your life.”

After the war, Woods returned to the University of Arkansas and got his degree in journalism. He became Public Information Officer for the 45th Infantry Division and served in that capacity during the Korean War. He achieved the rank of Colonel in the National Guard and worked for many years as Public Relations Specialist for OG&E. Woods was chosen the nation’s outstanding ex-POW of 2005.

Until next time, Dick Pryor

(above) Pen Woods with OETA’s Dick Pryor.

(Pen Woods was profiled on the Oklahoma News Report on November 7, 2007. To see the story, click on “Videos” on this website and go to “OETA’s Dick Pryor interviews Oklahoma WWII veterans.”)

Posted in Battle of the Bulge, Concentration Camps, OETA, Oklahoma News Report, The War, War in Europe, World War II, Adolf Hitler, 45th Infantry Division, Army, The Oklahoman | No Comments »

Rave Reviews for “The War”

September 20th

“A riveting experience.” “Outstanding.” “Well-done.” “Strong.” “The war as I remembered it.” “I can’t wait to see the entire documentary.”

Those were some of the comments heard Wednesday night at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art after the screening of an hour-long preview of the Ken Burns documentary, “The War.”

Several veterans were in attendance to watch excerpts from the 7-part, 15-hour television event that begins on OETA Sunday night at 7:00. Following the screening Dr. Robert Griswold, Chair of the History Department at the University of Oklahoma, WWII Veteran Paul Wilson of the 17th Airborne Division and Roger Harris, oral historian at the Oklahoma History Center, answered questions about the film, the war, and its impact.

Wilson emphasized the sense of duty that Americans felt during the war, and how young men everywhere wanted to get involved to serve the country and their families. He, like so many soldiers who fought in the bleak winter conditions during the Battle of the Bulge, suffered from the effects of the bitterly cold temperatures. “Medics,” Wilson said, “were the real heroes of the war. And, I wouldn’t be here today without help from the man above.”

Harris said many veterans are now coming forward to talk about their experiences, ending years of trauma-induced silence. Griswold said such stories are important to help future generations understand the scope and gravity of the war. He teaches about World War II at the University of Oklahoma. Griswold is hopeful that programs such as “The War” will help students of today better appreciate the sacrifices involved in World War II and its impact on history.

SEEN and HEARD: Among those at the event on Wednesday night were OETA Station Manager Bill Thrash, Scott Horton and Paige Lessly of NewsOK (Scott designed the fabulous Oklahoma World War II Stories website), and World War II veteran Zee Howell, who will be featured on Friday night in the Oklahoma News Report. For more on the event, be sure to read the September 20th front page story in The Oklahoman.

Until next time, Dick Pryor

(above) Moderator Dick Pryor with Don Wright of Oklahoma City, a veteran of Guadalcanal who attended the screening event at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

(below) Panel member Paul Wilson, a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division, visits with members of the audience about his experiences in World War II following the screening event at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

(below) A crowd of more than 235 people watched the pre-screening of The War and the panel discussion at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Our thanks to Film Curator Brian Hearn and our friends at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for their support of “The War”!

(below) Dr. Robert Griswold discusses the impact of World War II. Oral Historian Roger Harris of the Oklahoma History Center is on his right.

Posted in The War, War in Europe, Battle of the Bulge, OETA, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Army, Navy, Marines, World War II, Army Air Corps, 45th Infantry Division, South Pacific, The Oklahoman | 2 Comments »

Tulsans Pack Circle Cinema for “The War” Preview Screening

September 19th

A standing room crowd watched the first hour-long preview of Ken Burns’ important, new documentary, “The War,” Tuesday at the Circle Cinema Theatre in Tulsa. Several veterans attended the pre-screening event and they seemed to appreciate the approach used by Burns to tell the story of the “greatest generation” at home and in the theaters of war. The film presents the horrors and heartbreak of war in the riveting and personal style that has made Burns America’s most prominent producer of historical documentaries.

Following the screening, OETA’s Dick Pryor moderated a panel discussion with WWII veteran Kenneth Renberg, a German who trained American troops and fought with the 45th Infantry Division; Dr. Brad Agnew, Professor of History at Northeastern State University and an expert on military history; and Eva Unterman, a survivor of the holocaust who spent most of the war in Nazi concentration camps. OETA’s Lori Holliday showed the dynamic, new Oklahoma World War II Stories website (including this blog) and encouraged everyone attending to participate in the story collection project using the website’s “Share a Story” module. To-date, more than 700 people have shared a story - an overwhelming response!

Special thanks to Clark Wiens and Amberla Tepe of the Circle Cinema Theatre for hosting such a great event to begin the march toward “The War.” Ken Burns’ 15-hour epic, “The War,” debuts Sunday night at 7:00 on OETA.