Les Schrenk, 102-year-old World War II veteran from Minnesota, dies
Minnesota native and World War II veteran Les Schrenk died earlier this week. He was 102 years old.
In so many ways, Les Schrenk's life reads like a movie script.
"I enlisted because my brother was in the Air Force and naturally, I wanted to be in the Air Force," said Schrenk in May 2024.
During World War II, the B-17 Schrenk and his crew were flying in was shot by a German ace. But instead of continuing to shoot and finish them off, the German pilot let them reach land where they were captured.
"He could have kept shooting at us when the plane was on fire knowing fully-well that we would have hit the water and drowned. But he didn't do that," said Schrenk.
Nearly 70 years later, Schrenk got a chance to meet that German pilot, Hans Hermann Müller, and the two became the unlikeliest of friends. Müller admitted to Schrenk that he let his crew live because he was tired of the war and the killing.
"When I got there, we hugged each other, and it was like we were old buddies," said Schrenk. "That is very unusual. Meeting your former enemy and making friends with him."
"He is a whippersnapper. He is. He is so well-built yet," said Reynolds Tomter while hanging out with Schrenk in April of 2025.
Back in the states, the two proved you're never too old to make a buddy. They could be seen cruising around on Tomter's golf cart in Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin.
"How many times do I get to meet a 107, 108-year-old man that's as sharp as Reynolds? It's really an honor to known someone like that," said Schrenk.
He also made friends with Casey Bukowski. Both were B-17 gunners during World War II and were shot down on the same day. They ended up in the same German prison camp and were forced into the same death march that claimed the lives of many fellow soldiers. And even though Bukowski and Schrenk likely crossed paths, it took them 80 years to finally meet.
"That's amazing. We were practically shaking hands and yet, we didn't know each other," said Bukowski.
"We are both quite mobile and can clearly remember what happened even 80-some years ago," said Schrenk.
The day before he had a stroke that ultimately took his life, Schrenk was exercising his mind and body. At 102, he was still doing water aerobics, lifting weights and riding his bike. You knew he was home when you saw the red bicycle with the basket sitting outside.
"Seeing him so alive with his story, so open. He's just received like a gift to those people who got to meet him," said Mary Jo Rohrbacher, Schrenk's travel companion.
"The first day I met him he was cracking jokes. People just loved being around him from all over the place. And he never had any enemies or bad feelings about anybody," said Mike Johnson, another travel companion.
The sacrifices made by his fellow soldiers were never lost on Schrenk. During one of his last trips to Normandy, he made time to gather sand from Omaha beach. A keepsake he held dear, until his last day.
"Everything amazes me. I can't put it into words," said Schrenk. "I'm glad I lived to talk about it. I put all the bad things behind me a long, long time ago."
Schrenk said that what got him through his time as a German POW was poetry and prayer.
On Wednesday, a special mass was held for Schrenk in Rome at the church of St. Anne in Vatican City.