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217935 CPl. Charles William Dreier US Army 143rd Infantry Regt. from:Astoria, Queens, NYC Charles William Breier was my father. He served with the US forces 143rd Infantry and was a POW in several stalags, ending up in 3b. He knew Angelo Spinelli, a US forces photographer and my mother and I spoke to Angelo several times. In fact, in one of Angelo's publications after the war, my mother saw my father in one of his pictures. This picture confirmed my father was a POW. During the war he was classified, Missing in action presumed dead. So, mom had a difficult time getting some of his benefits. This picture and several others were undeniable. If you have Angelo's book, my dad is the piano player.
My dad was obviously a brave man. But he was also a humble, modest man. So, he never told me much, but we think he was recruited to be a ranger. He was in some of the most bloody battles in Northern Africa, and southern Italy. He was captured outside of Rome, after the battle of Anzio, which was one of the bloodiest battles. Luckily he somehow survived, and I do remember him telling me, there was hardly anyone left, the beach was a pool of corpses and blood. He spearheaded his boat and the landing, telling everyone to take off their heavy arms and backpacks. The water was dangerously rough and deep. He saw they would be unable to make it ashore if they kept their gear on them.
After Anzio, he was captured outside of Rome. Thereafter little is known, and he was marched to stalag4 so before stalag 3b, which he was freed from. However, he did not sit still. He escaped three times, recaptured and returned to solitary and god knows what else. One escape was aided by the. French resistance but again he was again captured. I think all these escapes happened before 3b. From what I can see, he was 97 lbs when he came home, so he was pretty emaciated and suffering from jaundice.
I wish he was here so I could ask him many questions. He came home and immediately went to work, with no support from our government. I was born in 1947' so I was the love child. I have a silver box where he carved all the stalags he was in. I am thinking about donating it to the pow museum in Andersonville, when I finally get there.
I try to visit him once a year, but the cemetery is very far from where I live. That makes me sad, because it's less often as I get older and have my own issues. I still miss him, he was taken. Far to early for me. But I know he is playing his piano in heaven. |
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