Band of Brothers Remember WWII on KMOT-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Band of Brothers Remember WWII | Video

Amanda Tetlak

5/7/2009

During World War two, many North Dakotans responded to the call to serve for their country.

Tomorrow, nearly 100 of those veterans will fly to Washington D.C. to see the World War II memorial.

For most, it`s their first time visiting the site, which was dedicated five years ago.

Three men making the trip all share a pretty special bond.

It`s hard enough for parents to deal with the fear of one of their children being called into active duty, imagine three of your boys serving during the same war.

It`s not the same house brothers John, Anton, and Matt Hatzenbuhler grew up in together in Solen, North Dakota, but they still come together at Matt`s home in Mandan to talk about something they all share, being World War II veterans.

John`s the oldest at 89, and served in the infantry in Normandy in 1944.

"I missed the invasion," he says.

87 year-old Anton served in the air force repairing bombers on the home front.

"My job was when the airplanes came in, repair them, give them a 25 hour inspection, 50 hour inspection," says Anton.

And 83 year-old Matt served with the Army, working in a bakery to feed the soldiers in Japan after the war finished up.

"About 2,000 loaves a day," he says. "Then the Japanese they were rich then and poor now so they always came back to get the scraps and stuff."

While they all played a different part and have different memories.

"You get scared. Sometimes you just don`t think you`re going to make it," John says. "You pray. That`s one thing. There`s no such thing as an atheist in the Army.

"Somebody had to stay back home," says Anton.

"It was all bombed out," says Matt. "There was nothing there in Tokyo."

The fact is is that they did play their part during a war that killed 400,000 Americans. All three brothers say they`re lucky to have lived through their experiences and their trip to Washington is one they`ve been waiting for but aren`t exactly sure how they`ll react when finally see the memorial built in honor of them, as John says many of his fellow soldiers were killed.

"We lost 93 the first day," says John. "I think there was six or seven original guys left."

And the memories are sure to flow once they see the monument that honors their service.

All three brothers were drafted in World War II, and their younger brother also served in Korea.

The Rough Rider Honor Flight leaves Bismarck tomorrow morning at 8:15.

BACK TO BISMARCK STORIES

Search News Stories

BACK TO NEWS HOME

Sister Stations: KFYR TV in Bismarck, KUMV in Williston, KQCD in Dickinson