Curtis Renner was born in Danielsville, Pennsylvania in February 1921. He was drafted into service in July 1942 and discharged in October 1945. He received training on different types of motorized equipment, including jeeps, fire engines, and tractor trailers. He was sent overseas to England in October 1943 and stayed there until D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He landed in Normandy a few days after the initial landing. He was loaded onto a liberty ship and then transferred to an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] so he could make the landing. He headed inland as soon as he made the landing, and he had to climb up a hill and through briar brushes. Bodies were floating in the water when he made his landing on the beach. There was no time to think. He was told to push through right when the LST ramp lowered down. He was part of an air rescue squadron. His squad moved through Europe, serving in Luxembourg, Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France], Liège [Annotator’s Note: Liège, Belgium], and then into the Ardennes Forest. His squad’s mission was to find and rescue downed pilots. There was a communication vehicle that gave them the locations. One of his missions was rescuing a pilot that had crashed a Spitfire [Annotator’s Note: British Supermarine Spitfire] in France. They discovered that the pilot had died on impact. The communication truck would receive emergency information from the pilots, which was then relayed to Renner’s team. Renner and his team would then get to the location to help. Most of the time, the communication team would tell the pilot to land in an open field nearby, so Renner’s team would be ready to help as soon as the plane touched the ground. Each crash he helped rescue was different and it was hard to train for a job like that. Renner’s prime concern was rescuing the pilot first, then to assess the damage of the plane to see what was needed.

Curtis Renner was in an air Rescue squadron [Annotator’s Note: attached at times to the Ninth Air Force] to rescue downed pilots on the front lines. One of his missions was rescuing a pilot that had crashed a Spitfire [Annotator’s Note: British Supermarine Spitfire] in France. They discovered that the pilot had died on impact. Renner’s prime concern was rescuing the pilot first, then assessing the damage of the plane to see what was needed. For a long time, the events he experienced in Europe affected his psyche and he refused to talk about it to anyone. He participated in the Battle of Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], trying to rescue planes. There were very successful rescues, especially in P-47s [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft]. Many of the pilots were rattled mentally by the plane crashes. Many were injured or wounded by rifle fire. [Annotator’s Note: video goes black at 0:22:53.000.] As the war progressed, Renner stayed attached to the Ninth Air Force. His squad moved through Europe, serving in Luxembourg, Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France], Liège [Annotator’s Note: Liège, Belgium], and then into the Ardennes Forest. His unit was always near the front lines ready to move out as quickly as possible when they received their mission to rescue someone. His unit bivouacked in tents or in trucks. He was in the Ardennes during Christmas 1944. At the beginning of the New Year 1945, his unit made its way through Germany. He was soon given orders to return to England and go through combat training for Pacific warfare. He found out that he was only a few points short of being discharged [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on several factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. Renner believes he saved number of pilots in doing his job.

Curtis Renner was in an air rescue squadron [Annotator’s Note: attached at times to the Ninth Air Force] tasked with rescuing downed pilots on the front lines. Renner’s prime concern was rescuing the pilot first, then assessing the damage of the plane to see what was needed. When he rescued the pilots, he would cut the straps of the seat harness and then pull him out. Everything was done very quickly so everyone could distance themselves from the plane in case gas ignited it on fire. Renner was very cautious of fire explosions. He felt very close to the guys in his unit, but did not have any reunions with them after the war. His experience in World War 2 was a very rewarding experience. He was discharged from the service as a corporal at Camp Bowie, Texas. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:36:22.000.] Renner remarked that over 300 planes went down during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. The planes had to land in a frozen, open field, and it was very dangerous. The worst crash was when the airplane made a nosedive into the ground and flipped over. After the war, Renner had some difficulty adjusting when he returned to America. He began to develop boils because of the water he consumed in Europe. He did his best to forget memories of World War 2 and not talk about it. One of his missions was rescuing a pilot that crashed a Spitfire [Annotator’s Note: British Supermarine Spitfire] in France. He discovered that the pilot had died on impact.

Curtis Renner was in an air rescue squadron [Annotator’s Note: attached at times to the Ninth Air Force] to rescue downed pilots on the front lines. He does not like to remember what he witnessed during his experience in Europe and does not like talking about it. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:45:43.000.] Renner was transferred out of continental Europe and back to England for combat training to fight in the Pacific. He was given a leave of absence and went home. While he was home, the war ended. Renner was very happy he did not have to go to Japan. He is glad that he served in World War 2. He had some trouble finding a job at first after separating from service. The Germans had very good equipment.