Itís no wonder that Leonard Hansenís favorite colors are red, white and blue. To Hansen, a Woodlake resident and a POW, those colors truly mean freedom. Hansen celebrated his 86th birthday only last week, but hasnít let age slow him down or stop him from telling his story.

A humble family man, devote Christian and community supporter, Hansen is often seen at local events to visit or speak with youth. He considers himself lucky compared to many POWs, but his story still sparks patriotism each time itís told.

Raised during the Great Depression in Creighton, Neb., Hansen was faced with hard times from the start. He loved to read Horatio Alger books because of the ìrags to richesî storylines and dreamed of going off to see his fortune.

After graduating high school, Hansen attended Dana College in Blair Nebraska before traveling to California to work in industry at the start of World War II. He worked at Douglas Aircraft Co. in Santa Monica and made $21 a week as a departmental clerk in the sub-assembly department. Soon, he left Douglas and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in the pilot training program. He was given his silver wings and a commission as Second Lieutenant in Feb. of 1944. It was during this time while attending flight school that Hansen began to date a UCLA, Miss Elizabeth Vanderhoof of Woodlake who he soon married.

After graduation, Hansen was shipped out to Kingman Army Air Base in Arizona and then Rapid City Army Air Base for operational training. It was there that he joined the crew that would go over seas with. Lt. Watson Shepherd was the pilot, Hansen the co-pilot of a B-17.

ìWe really got close to one another and became a fine working unit,î said Hansen. ìWe did a lot of night practice missions, bomb runs both day and night and a lot of formation flying.î

The crew shipped out of Rapid City in June of 1944 for Kearney, Nebraska. Brand new B-17s awaited the crew and their destination was kept Top Secret until they were airborne. They flew over the cold Atlantic and arrived in Nutts Corner, North Ireland on July 4. After orientation near Manchester, England they were shipped to Horhma, East Anglia. TGhey were issued fake passports and their first mission in early August: a short run to bomb a German airbase in Holland. On his third mission Hansenís plane was hit.

ìNo flak clouds were in sight when suddenly there was a ìboom!î outside the left cockpit window,î said Hansen. ìI felt a burning sensation in my left arm and the instruments started to go crazy.î

Two of their engines were smoking very badly and one propeller was without power. Shepherd and Hansen agreed to take the plane down. Once on the ground they encountered German fire. Hansen said he remembers puffs of smoke pass within inches of his head in the cockpit. The five crew members exited the plane, which had caught fire, but were surrounded by German soldiers. They were given medical treatment and told that the Red Cross would notify their families that they were alive.

Hansen was transferred to Dulag Luft near Frankfurt where he was placed in solitary confinement with a straw mattress and lots of lice in the room. After two days he was taken out and met his first large group of POWs. They were all transferred to Permanent Luftwaffe Camp No. 1 also known as Stalag Luft I. This was the first POW camp the Germans opened up since the initial war with England was an air war. Most of the inmates were pilots, navigators or bombardiers.

Hansen remembers arriving on Sept. 10. The prisoners were nicknamed ìKriegieî which was short for the German word for prisoner of war.

Each room Hansen said was about 20 feet square and sometimes housed more than 30 men. In one corner was a small coal burning stove. There were no flush toilets and no hot water. Prisoners washed up at the latrine.

The soldiers received American Red Cross parcels during that time. One was a ìcapture Parcelî and a food parcel that provided a basic ration for one person for one week.

The capture parcel including basic items such as bath towels, socks, handkerchiefs, soap, pipe tobacco, a sewing kit, underwear, a first aid kit, a razor with blades vitamins, slippers, a hair and shaving brush, shoe polish and shoe laces.

The food parcel contained Spam, canned corn beef, powdered milk, , concentrated chocolate, coffee, vitamins, Velveeta cheese, margarine, K-Ration biscuits, sugar and jam. While the boxes didnít always arrive weekly, Hansen said because of these parcels most got along fine.

But the uncertainty of what could happen haunted all those at Barth.

ìIn a foreign land, as a prisoner of the enemy and having no real assurance of making it out alive and no way to improve oneís own circumstances, these were the factors that made it such an unforgettable experience,î said Hansen.

During the day the prisoners would sometimes get to use some of the sports equipment furnished by the YMCA, watched the progress of the war via a large map, read smuggled newspapers and listened to a small secret radio. At Christmas the soldiers were given a special Christmas Red Cross Parcel which was the last big meal the soldiers would have for three months. Rations got slim and finally fell to one small slice of bread a day along with some frozen cabbage or potatoes.

ìIt was during those three months that life was at its worst,î said Hansen. ìI lost 25 pounds, but I consider myself lucky compared to those in the concentration camps.î

But with the help of the dye from the Red Cross parcel packages and the handkerchiefs that came in them, Hansen and his fellow soldiers made American flags in anticipation of rescue from the Russians. They would soak the red and blue printing until it made a dye and paint on the white, rectangle handkerchiefs. The flags were a symbol of hope in uncertain times.

On May 1, 1945 the advance units of the Russian Army rolled into Barth.

ìWe were waiting inside the barbed wire for them to come,î said Hansen. ìThey tore down the fences and let us loose to roam around and find food.î

The 8th Air Force flew in 12 days later and took the soldiers to France.

ìThe first real American flag I saw was flying in France,î said Hansen. ìWhen we arrived there was a giant flood light on it. We looked up at that flag and cried- it was the most beautiful sight in the whole world.î

Hansen still has the flag he made in the camp as a POW. It now hangs in his office and he takes it when he speaks to students. The flag is faded and boasts 48 stars. But it is perfect. Red, white and blue the small flag is a reminder of hope in uncertain times. Itís not invincible, but the part it plays to fuel the American spirit is.

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