Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Mark Hertz

Marcus Mark Hertz was born 26 Jul 1922 in St. Paul, one of five children of parents of Russian Jewish heritage. He grew up in St. Paul, and graduated from high school in 1941. Mark enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in February 1942, and was trained as a bombardier/navigator on B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine heavy bombers. He graduated from cadet school in December 1943. Mark was assigned to the 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, and posted to England. Before his departure he was married, in March 1944 (Lorraine). Mark completed twelve bombing missions over Europe. On his thirteenth mission, on 28 July 1944 to the German city of Merseburg, his B-17 was shot down. As a POW, Mark spent time at the interrogation facility Dulag Luft, then Luft III Sagan (Aug 1944 - Jan 1945). Luft III was evacuated with Soviet troops closing in; Mark and other POWs were marched for nearly three months, finally ending at VII-A Moosburg in Bavaria in early April. This overcrowded camp was liberated by US forces on 29 April 1945. Mark arrived back in the United States in August 1945, and was discharged in September. Again a civilian, Mark spent his life in St. Paul, working in the furniture business at Cardoso\u27s