Sigourney Grand Marshall experienced perils of World War II

Joseph C. Patzner, the Grand Marshal of the Sigourney 4th of July 2019 and 175th anniversary parade, was an Army draftee from Guttenberg, IA. Joe was born on April 1, 1924 to Martin and Mabel Patzner. He went into the service at 18 years old in 1942 and trained in Fort Jackson, SC. He was shipped overseas in November 1944, went to the front lines in December and engaged in the Battle of the Bulge. Joe was taken Prisoner of War on the night of December 17, 1944.

According to Joe, “I was in the 159th Field Artillery of the 106th Division, serving in the Service Battery and drove a truck delivering supplies, artillery shells for the 106 Howitzer and rations for the A, B and C Batteries.

“The German forwarding party came through on the morning of December 17th. We had some casualties, so they were loaded into my truck. They sent me to Schonberg, Belgium to get medical aid wherever we could. As soon as I got there I ran into resistance. The roads were blocked with trucks and someone took the casualties. We were told to take our truck to the farmhouse on the west side of the road and to stay there and wait. There were other stragglers coming through and they stayed with us at the farmhouse.

“Later that night, the Germans dressed in white (to blend in with the snow) kicked in the door and took us as prisoners. We were taken to Stalag IX-B at Bad Orb, Germany. After about a month, we were moved to Zigenhain, Stalag IX-A.”

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