Central Illinois World War II Stories - Oral History Interview: Charles Dukes of Georgetown 

I love this man, to hell and back. I could listen to him tell stories all day long

Charley passed at 98 and will be buried on June 20, 2021.

The amazing thing about Mr Dukes is he suffered more as a POW than on the battlefield, only weighing 109 lbs. and nearly 6' tall when released. Walking skeleton. We see movies of American POWs in nice buildings with cots, but it was nothing like that at all. Thank you for your brave service sir, your never say die attitude, and for sharing your great story with us.

My father was a prisoner of war for six months. He never talked about it. I found out when I stumbled across his Army papers. He won two bronze stars and a silver star. He never said a word.

Man,this guy went thru the ringer.GOD BLESS HIS SOUL.Thanks for giving him the opportunity to tell his story.

This guy is a great story teller. The dark side of going from college to combat to POW to a tough readjustment.

With tears in my eyes, God Bless You HONORABLE SIR! You did indeed SAVE THE WORLD!

Sadly, this guy is a thing of the past. He is full of honor and hard work, ethics and caring. Today I listen to college kids talk about 'micro aggressions' War is a human tragedy and should be stopped but since we are considered a true renewable resource that is not likely to happen.

You don't want to miss a single word of this story. Pushed to beyond the limits that most could take, but still kept going. This interview only had time to look at the surface of this story, can only imagine what all of it would be like. Thank you Mr. Dukes for doing what you did, and then sharing it with others.

What a story of pure survival. I can't imagine what a 22 year old would do today if faced with such circumstances. God Bless Charles.

Thank you so much for recording this

My dad was one of the lucky guys in World War II. He did not enlist, he got drafted.He was 27yrs old, married and had a child my older brother . He ended up being a cook, A Master Sergeant Cook, with all the trimmings. He did not get shipped overseas because every time his company was shipped out he was AWOL, my dad was a rogue. Anyways he had a good job he would come home on leave with a jeep that he got from the officers because he fed their crap and dice games well with food. My mother always got fresh milk steak eggs etc. etc., when all these things were rationed. it wasn't too bad for her &I my older Brothers and sister, I was born in 1946. Conversely my mother's Brother, my uncle, was shipped over seas and fought in north Africa and Europe. He was one of the first men to land or Normandy beach, he came in on a rubber raft and set up beacons for the landing troops to come in. He was wounded three times, escaped from the hospital twice to get back to his unit and the third time they put him on a boat and shipped him back to the United States so he wouldn't do that anymore. He actually was the most decorated man in the state of Ohio and he was shell schocked because of the war, I remember at a ball game one time he ducked under the seats when somebody set off a fire cracker, that was in the 1960s. He was a wonderful man and a great shot, he often took me hunting, but he drank quite a bit, probably because of the war. In the end World War II was a bitch from one story, my dad to another story, my uncle. Peace be with them they were great men ! This is the first time I've told anyone about this

Mr Dukes shows resilience, determination and true grit. His story is very interesting and I would like to say thank you for sharing it. Who on earth could give any of these Veterans stories a thumbs down?

Magnificent interview. This bloke is incredible. What a champ.

Incredible story. Thank you Mr. Dukes for your courage and will to survive. Whoever left a "thumbs down" to this man's story should suffer the way he did. Miscreants...

I have nothing but utmost respect for ww1 and ww11 vets and the service they provided. I swear their will never be a generation as tough, If their is any kind of people I look up to it them vets. Thank you dearly for service and the losses you took to be able to feed our mouths, you boys deserve more respect.

The disrespect shown for our World War II veterans(all vetrans really) today is disgusting! These were some of the last true heroes- because Generations like mine have no respect especially for what these brave men went through... We need to remind the world that people in comic books and movies aren't the real heroes. REAL heroes are people like this and they are constantly being disrespected and forgotten today. Pray for our future because if we forget our past we'll be doomed to fail.

Amazing story. Truly. I listen to it again. My Dad served in the 95th Infantry Division for four years..."The Iron Men of Metz." There's a reason for that title if you wanted to look it up. Reading a book on personal accounts, they too spoke of being moved on packed railroad cars that only had standing room. Even after Metz they had to go on and on fighting.

My life is a stroll in the park thanks to those who served.

I wish you would have let him talk longer. He is full of information and its a miracle he survived. He has earned the rught for a second interview if he is still alive.

This is on e humble American hero, thanks for sharing your story and serving your country, I have my freedom because of men like you!

What the...??? An American soldier fought the Germans single handed & survived!!! Then the Russians for months!!! Then the American Army!!! Then the European civilization!!! Good gawd!!! Bless this soldier!!!

When Dukes recieved his CIB and was told he'd been through hell little did he know the hell that still awaited him. RESPECT. Thanks for sharing that story.

A wonderful human being. Thank you

Thank you for your service!! What an amazing story!!

Truely impressive story ... I was revited for the entire time

What a hero. My deepest respect for him. Thank you Charles.

If any generation could live forever and spread knowledge to the world it would be this one.

This is one of the best ww2 stories I've ever heard.

Thank you sir for serving .

What an incredible story everyone should read this ! Thank you Charles Dukes

Thank you very much for sharing your horrific experiences. More importantly your strength, will to survive, heart and public service, I don’t know what else I can say except that purchased your book on Amazon and strongly recommended that this RU-vid presentation be viewed. I am saddened that our veterans pass away, they have earned the rest and peace...

Fascinating story! It's a damn shame the way the US Army and Navy treated him, To be shackled and chained by the US Army after spending time as a POW and then having to escape Russian captivity to find his way back to the American lines. The outrage that man must have felt. Who wouldn't loose their mind? Going AWOL was the smartest and most effective psychological treatment he wouldn't have received anywhere else. Bless his soul.

Thank you for sharing the incredibly hard details to recount. It is hard for me a soft boy born in the 50’s whom has never been in the service to imagine the conditions of combat/ captivity. It is because of these great men that we can be safe and soft, all over the world.

My heart breaks everyday knowing these great heroes are passing. The Greatest Generation.❤ 🇺🇸

This man was a great hero thank you for this interview

great interview!

This man went through hell, and was able to adapt to this hell, and that's what peacetime people call crazy. But, it's a miracle he maintained enough to adapt back to civilization, and live with people and marry, while having to live with the haunting memories. Thank you, Charles Dukes for your service. You are a better man than me. @4:40 - High altitude- I remember getting off the airplane in Colorado Springs and reporting to Fort Carson. If I walked across the street, I was winded. After a few days, it got more normal. I don't know how the lungs adapt to high altitude, but they do. I do not know how athletes fly to Denver, which is about as high in altitude, and exert themselves in that rarefied air. I think training at 5,000 feet is an advantage, and visiting 5,000 feet is a disadvantage.

Thank you Sir, God bless you all...

I feel very proud of all veterans of WW2. My grandfather and great uncle both participated in the war and my great uncle told me that all veterans of WW2 were men who really love the country and that most of them enlisted voluntarily after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. My great uncle told me that we all should feel proud of all WW2 veterans for they were just young kids when they left and many never returned. He always felt guilty he survived the war and told me that he did not know how he survived the war. My great uncle died in 2001.

I so appreciate your story. First class man.

What a good man!!!! Another example of the greatest generation

Amazing story! Thank you.

My uncles and grandpa were apart of the first marine division on D-Day pacific.

Years ago I was in a waiting room and an older gentleman and I struck up a conversation. He was old enough to be my grandfather. We exchanged small talk and he started to talk about his service in WW2. We spoke for 30 mins or more and he shared his unrelenting grief of 65 years with me while I listened. The man was in tears and his hands shook as he talked about his service and the men he had left behind. This man was the co-pilot of a B-17 in the Eighth Army Air Corp. I remember the story as if it were told yesterday however there is no way that I can relate it with the emotion that he did. He didn't speak about pride and victory he spoke of terror and anguish. The terror of mission after mission and of returning to base against all odds many times barely able to have escaped death while his fellow airmen were killed and maimed. He survived without a scratch on his body but terrible wounds to his heart and mind. As I was comforting and assuring him that he served his country and his men with honor his wife walked in, he abruptly stopped talking, his demeanor changed and he quickly composed himself. Books and movies can not convey what combat veterans and the medical staff that supported them went through on an emotional level. I cannot even begin to comprehend what Mr. Dukes went through and his ability to overcome such devastating physical and psychological trauma.

What a amazing story God bless RIP thank you

"Salvation Army was free" donate to the Salvation Army not the Red Cross..

Charles Dukes passed on June 15, 2021

im 11 years old and watched the video to the end i wish he came to my school

I'm very interested in your story thank you for sharing it

Did I understand correctly, where he said as many as 20k Russian P.O.W.'s were American that never came back ?

Fantastic fellow! What else can one say.

This guy went to the same university where I live by. That's so cool.

Thanks from my ❤

As former navy wish I could hug this guy 81 to 85 real USA went hand to hand wow says I just got nicked GOD bless him will go to heaven saved me from bigger hell THANK U SIR

Could have asked questions for hours to this hero.

9:00 I nearly fell off my chair at that cough goddamnit

Absolutely an incredible story - Hollywood oughta take note of this man and make a movie ~

We all one day be badasses but we will never be Charles Dukes level of badass!

This is an incredible story

AMAZING MAN!!!

Its sad how someone like Mr. Dukes, who paid such a terrible price, slipped through the cracks of the story of WWII. It is one we should all honor and remember. No one knows their fate when serving their country. He did his duty and persevered in a world of insanity. God bless this man.

Thank you

Charlie Dukes had one Heck of a RUN passing away in 2017 at the Ripe Age of 98 . Charlie had more Balls than 99.9 percent of all men today . Thank You for you servixe and RIP 🙏

True American hero and patriot. God bless him and all those who fought.

Bless you sir and thanks for saving the free world ! !❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

G0D bless you and I will pray for your complete healing (mental & physical). U.S. Army Vet. 82nd Abn.Div., Non-combat , 2 yr. Draftee, Feb1968 thru Jan1970. E4 A.Munguia.

Not to be disrespectful of this man for his service but he spins a good yarn

I wish i was 10% as strong as this man what a true hero.

These WW2 memories are important.

Seems like if you are locked in a prisoner of war camp, the first thing you that should happen when you get out they should give you months of back pay and accumulated leave. He should never have had to go AWOL.

Infantry does suffer terrible casualties. It's the same to this day. Welcome home, and thank you.

I live in urbana ill. This is one amazing man. And there is many many more like him

Wonderful to know such great men exist! God bless you.

You had a wild time of bad things happen ing to you but thanks for your surface. My dad was navy served on the phaon arb 3 he wouldn't talk about what happened or what he saw he had his problems after he came back. He was the only kid in his neighborhood that came home

War is a nasty business. This brother is a survivor.😢

God bless this man.

Truly the Greatest generation.

What an incredible memory.

poor kid with his tongue frozen to the metal in the train could have been saved with something as simple as wetting your finger with your tongue and putting the wetness on his tongue and it detaches from the metal without ripping it. Then it wouldnt have swollen up.

You casually dropped your last bomb... We left 20,000 Americans to the Russians?

Bless you brother,, ive had the same thing since Vietnam..

He mentioned his sergeant was still alive in this video, did anyone go back and interview him?

Mr.Dukes made a slight error.Upon recovering from being blown from the russian tank the second chap he named was from my regiment The 15th/19th The Kings Royal Hussars. God bless you Mr.Dukes.Merebimur

What a spirfire! The kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it or rip your head off if you needed it. What resilience! The human mind can adapt.

God bless our veterans !❤

His story, should be a movie, it's like forest Gump 😁, for F sake, he's a prisoner of war for the Germans, prisoner of war for the Russians and dam he was a prisoner short lived for the Americans, this hero can't get a break,

When he said kids aren’t as interested today, man I wish he could’ve met me or I could’ve had him come into my class

This dude should be in history books. That’s true about American soldiers going to Russia.

The most important factor is Charles Dukes perspective on situations. Notice how he said how he would walk home from work. 31:20 Its spiritual reckoning

Man ...wtf ...pure hell for them p.o.ws terrible they can never be thanked enough

I have listened to about 4 of his interviews that I've managed to find on RU-vid the details seem to change with each interview I'm not saying it didn't happen... but in one story it's a Russian tank with a blonde female another time it's a Polish tank etc

Soft times have produced soft men. Hard times are definitely coming and real men like this will be seen as the necessity that they truly are again.

What a man.

Anybody who went thru what he went thru, should automatically have the points to discharge

Said the German’s were looking to capture his division because they used “Timberwolf” uniforms as spies in the Battle of the Bulge. Also fits with the German solder who pulled him aside and told him in perfect English that he was born in the USA - since we know they Germans used those people to wear US Uniforms in the Battle of the Bulge. It probably also explains why the Germans sent them to a special POW camp. They didn’t want it to get out that these guys uniforms were taken. Couldn’t find his book on Amazon.

Thank you SIR ,FOR ALL THE HARDSHIP YOU SUFFERD FOR THIS COUNTRY...THE SACRIFICE IS UNIMAGINABLE TO ME...MAY THE GOOD LORD KEEP WATCHING OVER YOU...

Fascinating, loved hearing him. The Hitler Youth really must have been miserable little bastards, every vet that talks about their interactions with them has a story about something crappy they did.

Soldier, you will surely go to heaven , you have already been to hell. Nothing but chills.

What a sad story.. 75 dollars really? What about lost pay while in POW camp? Yeah the military really didn’t take care of our guys..to have smiled and laughed telling his story really showed his resolve to what must have been a nightmare