Glen Arnold Jostad grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. His family was poor but never hungry since they had crops and could hunt and fish. After high school graduation, he joined the CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps) where the discipline he experienced helped in his later military service. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces about a year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Glen Jostad had an abbreviated basic training before beginning radio training at Scott Field [Annotator's Note: near Belleville], Illinois. Months were spent afterward in the United States in flight training which included gunnery practice. Jostad was a radio operator and machine gunner on a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. He deployed to England as a bomber crewman.

Glen Jostad was a radio man and gunner on a Boeing B-17 heavy bomber. He flew multiple missions against German submarine pens in France. Although, his plane encountered antiaircraft fire, they were always glad to be accompanied by friendly fighters which they referred to as their "little friends." While on a bombing mission over Frankfurt, Germany, the bomber lost two engines and fell out of the formation. After being attacked by seven enemy fighters, the crew bailed out. Jostad was particularly satisfied with his ability to talk a fellow airman into bailing out despite his fear of doing so. The man went home to his family.

Glen Jostad bailed out of his damaged Boeing B-17 heavy bomber and had a German fighter pass twice around him with the pilot waving at him the second time. On the ground, Jostad evaded discovery for six hours but was eventually captured by German troops. He was taken to Frankfurt where crowds of angry civilians had to be restrained by the troops overseeing the prisoners of war.

Glen Jostad was taken to Frankfurt, Germany for interrogation after his capture by the Germans. It was a rough time, but he was not tortured. He was, however, threatened with execution. After a few days, he was shipped to Lithuania.

Glen Jostad found the food to be very meager and poor in the prisoner of war Stalag near Heydekrug, Germany [Annotator's Note: Stalag Luft VI was near today’s Šilutė, Lithuania]. The daily watery soup had worms with few vegetables in it. The bread ration was not given very frequently so he learned to parse it out with the soup so that it stretched as much as possible. Complaints to the enemy guards made no difference in quality or quantity. Gardens were started but were abandoned when the Russians approached the camp and it was evacuated. Jostad applied his previous Boy Scout survival training to successfully weather the voyage when he was shipped by freighter to another Stalag.

Glen Jostad was first held in a German prisoner of war camp [Annotator's Note: Stalag Luft VI in Heydekrug, Germany, near today’s Šilutė, Lithuania] following the separation of the enlisted men from sergeants and officers. Being a sergeant, he was grouped with the officers. His fellow POWs maintained military discipline through their barracks leader along with security and escape committees. Jostad was a member of both committees. Security maintained watch for English speaking German guards; while escape committees coordinated any planned escape attempts.

Glen Jostad learned while being a prisoner of the Germans that everything is valuable. He managed to create a trap for successfully capturing birds to provide meat for his meals. The German guards confiscated his trap and forbid him from doing anymore trapping. The prisoners developed a means to heat themselves with homemade stoves and scrounged kindling and cardboard from Red Cross packages. Another prisoner knitted a warm cap for Jostad out of a sweater traded for cigarettes. It was fortuitous since the winter of 1944 and 1945 was the coldest one ever recorded in Europe up to that time. The prisoners had to find ways to make their way through a difficult incarceration.

Glen Jostad was moved to Stalag IV after being evacuated from Stalag VI. Things got much tougher as the pressure drew more intense on Germany. At one point, the barracks was machine gunned by the guards. It may have been due to the commandant losing his entire family to Allied air raids. After Polish and Russian prisoners captured and ate one of the guard dogs, the guards took 40 of them out and executed them. As a security man for his barracks, Jostad found an innovative way to deal with an identified American traitor. Security was an important facet in maintaining military discipline among the POWs.

Glen Jostad and other POWs were evacuated from their initial Stalag [Annotator's Note: Stalag Luft VI in Heydekrug, Germany, near today’s Šilutė, Lithuania]. While in transit by rail, the prisoners worked with their guards to reach a mutual understanding and that no doubt saved lives and made life a little easier. When they reached their destination at Stalag IV [Annotator's Note: near Mühlberg, Germany], they were chased by guard dogs until they threw down the Red Cross packages that had just been given them previously. The pursuit was nicknamed the "Heydekrug Run" by the POWs. The Germans found a way to retrieve the Red Cross packages as a consequence of the pursuit. The event was considered for the docket of the Nuremburg Trails.

Glen Jostad was moved to Stalag XIII near Nuremburg. The Royal Air Force and the 8th Air Force provided a morale boost to the POWs with all the fireworks they provided nearby. The conditions were worse in the new Stalag. Food was scarce. Lice, fleas and rats bit the POWs and were major problems. Jostad contracted dysentery. Life had gone from bad to worse. The prisoners were forced to evacuate from Nuremberg to Moosburg. As they marched along, the POWs were strafed by friendly fire. That was a frightening experience to be dive bombed and machine gunned. Two men were hit but no one was killed. Jostad was so sick on the march that he thought he had reached his last day. That was just before he saw his destination in the distance.

Late in the war, Glen Jostad was relocated to a German prisoner of war camp near Moosberg, Germany [Annotator's Note: Jostad had been at Stalag XIII near Nuremberg and was moved to Stalag VII-A near Moosberg]. He was very ill during the march to the new camp. After arriving, he was treated by a POW doctor for yellow jaundice using sweets from the few Red Cross parcels available to the doctor. Subsequently, a battle commenced between the German and American forces under General Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton]. Shortly afterward, the German guards abandoned their posts and left the POWs. Healthy and well dressed tankers under General Patton liberated the camp. When the American flag was raised over Moosberg, Jostad felt a strong emotion. [Annotator's Note: Jostad displays emotion at the recollection.] When the American POWs went to the town of Moosberg, they discovered the Red Cross parcels intended for them in the homes of German civilians.

Following their liberation, Glen Jostad and over 100,000 other POWs were gather together and eventually flown out for repatriation. He was flown to Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: near Janville, France] for medical treatment and outfitting. The former prisoners were advised not to over-eat the plentiful food for risk of their bodies not being able to cope with the nourishment. After four or five weeks at the camp, he voyaged home from Le Havre. During the trip, the ship was called to battlestations once and it was amazing to see the crew come to life and react. Seeing the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor was very emotional. [Annotator's Note: Jostad displays emotion at the memory.] He was given a 60 day leave to return home. Afterward, he was sent to Miami, Florida where he learned of the dropping of the atomic bombs and the end of the war. He was authorized to discharge from the service near his home.

Glen Jostad thought life at Stalag VI was much better than Stalag IV. [Annotator's Note: Jostad was initially held at Stalag Luft VI in Heydekrug, Germany, near today’s Šilutė, Lithuania. He was transferred later to Stalag IV near Mühlberg, Germany.] As war conditions worsened for the Germans, greater restrictions were placed on the POWs. Food was particularly a concern despite warehouses being filled to capacity with Red Cross parcels. The men received BBC news from well hidden radios. Runners transferred the news from barracks to barracks. During his imprisonment, Jostad received no parcels and few pieces of mail from home. One new father, a fellow crewmen on Jostad's plane, did manage to receive a parcel of cigars after his child's birth. He was a big man on campus as other POWs followed him awaiting his disposal of finished butts. [Annotator’s Note: Jostad laughs.]

Glen Jostad reveals the terrors of dreams he suffered resulting from his years of being a prisoner of war held by the Germans. His values were influenced by his experiences. He and his wife were satisfied with the life they had after the war. Their children were educated beyond the extent of their parents. It was a good life. Jostad is surprised, however, that he is the only remaining crewman from his aircraft.

Glen Jostad saw a major impact on the civilian population as a result of the war. Everyone was together in the war effort including the sacrifices that had to be made. War bonds were bought by the public to support the troops. Young men enlisted in large numbers to defeat the "damn Germans and damn Japs [Annotator's Note: derogatory term for Japanese]" during the war. The war changed the global position of the United States dramatically. Nevertheless, the United States has lost prestige in the world in more recent years. The National WWII Museum is important to reveal that aspect of the country's history.

Glen Jostad describes his terrible experience during eight days transit from one Stalag to another. The cramped boxcar with 70 to 80 men inside produced horrible sanitary conditions. Couple that with men going crazy being jammed together. Friendly aircraft strafed the POW railcars. Harsh conditions and threats of execution by the Germans were commonplace. Despite all that he endured in the war, Jostad had a very satisfying postwar life with his wife and children. They enjoyed hunting, fishing and sports together. The thing that kept Jostad going during his years of imprisonment was walking to pass the time. That kept his mind clear while other men went off the deep end.