134th Infantry Regiment Website "All Hell Can't Stop Us"

Pfc Paul J Blochlinger

134th Infantry Regiment - Company E

Paul J. Blochlinger was born February 5, 1925 in Aurora, Kansas and served as a Rifleman in Company E, 134th Infantry Regiment. He was captured September 11, 1944 during a battle for the bridge across the Moselle River at Flavigny, France and held as a prisoner of war at Stalag IIA in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenberg, Germany. In April 1945, near the end of the war, surviving prisoners were released and marched westward ahead of the advancing Red Army. Upon contacting American troops and being taken to safety, most former prisoners spent months in Army hospitals to regain their strength and health.

After the war, he worked as a barber and owned the Family Barber Shop in Minneapolis, Kansas. In 1994 he recorded a video documenting his experiences during the battle in which he was captured, his return Flavigny, France and Stalag IIA where he was held as a POW.

In Part 1 of this video he discusses his experiences during the battle for the Flavigny bridge and as a German POW in 1944-1945.

In Part 2 of this video he describes his return to Europe, Flavigny, France and Stalag IIA, the prisoner of war camp where he was held in 1944 and 1945. He also discusses additional memories of his POW experience and the fight during which he was captured.

Paul J. Blochlinger passed away November 14, 2003. He is buried at Highland Cemetery in Minneapolis, Kansas.

These videos are from the collection of the Nebraska National Guard Museum, Seward, Nebraska. Special thanks to Mr. Nicholas Tuma.