Book tells tale of soldier's escape

During World War II as the invasion of Normandy launched, in pre-dawn June 6, 1944, paratrooper Henry Langrehr was among thousand that parachuted in. He tells his story in the book, "Whatever it Took".

Many of his fellow soldiers died, but he survived, crashing through a green house in St. Mere-Elgise. (I personally  have visited here). Isolated, he was captured by the Nazis, but he had been wounded by shrapnel.

The German doctor who operated on him in Paris did a good job removing the shrapnel. Then he was transported to Germany and kept for a week outside of a death camp, Henry witnessed the Nazi's brutality and the "final solution" and saw the bodies that were stacked like cords of wood. He was then transferred to a work camp.

Finally Henry and a friend made a desperate escape. A German soldier cornered them in a barn. His friend was shot and killed. Henry struggled  with the German, got his gun and shot and killed him. He then started walking across southern Germany. He stole food, killed a few more German soldiers.

Finally while hiding in the woods, he saw some tanks on a road, and they were American tanks, but he was too scared to move. The Americans were pursuing the Germans and Henry didn't want to get shot by our own troops.

Finally a  jeep, with a single radio man came up the road. He stopped to make a call. This was Henry's chance, he snuck out of the brush and talked with the radio man who told him "you look like a ragman." Henry said, "I am an American, I escaped from a prison camp, please help me." And he did.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and business owner in Priest River.