Bill Kongable was once handiest 19 years outdated when he left house to enroll in the struggle in World War II. On Tuesday in North Texas, at the age of 97, he had the alternative to take off in a WWII Warbird, reliving part of his previous. Kongable, who lives in Houston, was once assigned to the 89th infantry department and was once on the floor all over the struggle. He was once a part of the crew that liberated Ohrdruf, the first concentration camp freed by way of the U.S. military in 1945. Speaking to WFAA at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Kongable mentioned that coming from a small the town in Oklahoma, he by no means concept he would witness one thing like that. He remembers seeing roughly 3,000 bare, emaciated our bodies, thrown in on best of one another, forming a tangle of bone and flesh. This sight, coupled with the odor, is one thing that he says he’s going to by no means put out of your mind.
Kongable, who visited Dallas forward of the Victory in Europe Day celebrations, will percentage his reviews with Dallas schoolchildren at the museum. He is decided to make use of his voice to persuade everybody to do the whole lot of their energy to forestall atrocities like this from taking place once more. He additionally cautions towards politicians with out the nation’s very best pursuits at middle, stressing that it’s the greatest threat. Kongable’s lived historical past is a lesson he’s going to by no means put out of your mind.