Edmund Pfannenstiel Collection

Collection

Identifier: MS 011

Staff Only

The Edmund Pfannenstiel Collection includes wartime logs, letters and correspondence, service records and honors from his time as a prisoner of war in Stalag IX B during World War II.

Dates

Existence: 1940-2014

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

Extent

.42 Linear Feet (1 box)

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Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Edmund Pfannenstiel was born on April 14, 1918, and he was one of 12 children raised on a farm near Munjor, Kansas. He joined the 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard on September 25, 1939 in Salina. He completed training in April 1944 at Camp Howze in Texas and was sent overseas. He landed on Omaha Beach in France on July 10, 1944 and was assigned to the 112th Infantry of the 28th Infantry Division. His first engagement in battle was in Northern France where he fought with his infantry against the German S.S. troops for 42 days. By December, he was in the Hurtgen Forest in Germany where he spent from October 1st until November 10th; his infantry lost over half of the outfit and were moved back to Belgium to rest. The Battle of the Bulge started December 16 and he fought for two days in Ouren, Belgium and was captured there on December 18.

Edmund arrived at Stalag IX-B at Bad Orb, Germany, on December 26, 1944 where he got his first meal in nine days; the meal was one ladle of soup. At the prison camp, Edmund was named the American Chief Man of Confidence, a job in which he kept the camp roster and logged the activities and deaths in the camp. Because of his knowledge of the German language, he was also a translator.

On April 2, 1945, a task force comprising of the 2nd Battalion, 114th Regiment, U.S. 44th Infantry Division and reinforced with light tanks and armored cars from the 106th Cavalry Group and 776th Tank Destroyer Battalion liberated the Stalag IX-B camp. Edmund started his way home on April 14, 1945 from Germany, flew to France and then left Paris on April 19. He arrived in New York on April 20 and was flown to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. to deliver vital data.

Edmund was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on June 28, 1945. He was later awarded a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, the E.T.O. medal with five battle stars, the American Defense Service medal, the Good Conduct medal, and the Combat Infantryman badge.

Edmund married Loretta Kuhn on January 8, 1940 in Antonino, Kansas. They had six children – Shirley, Linda, Pat, Terry, Larry and Gary. Edmund passed away in Hays, Kansas on March 4, 1990 and is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Hays.