81 Years Later, Two WWII Veterans Meet And Discover They Survived the Same POW Camp

81 years later, two WWII veterans meet and discover they survived the same POW camp. Sometimes God waits until the winter of our lives to give us a friendship our hearts didn’t know we needed. That’s how it happened for 102-year-old Les Schrenk and 101-year-old Casey Bukowski—two World War II veterans whose stories ran side-by-side more than eighty years ago, yet their friendship didn’t begin until this fall.

Les had long assumed that everyone who survived alongside him had already passed. “I corresponded with so many of the POWs I was with and every one of them is gone for a good number of years now,” he said quietly.

But God loves to surprise us.

The Former POWs Meet Years Later

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Two friends, Mike Johnson and Jared Cummings, began comparing details and realized that Les and Casey had lived nearly identical wartime experiences. Both were staff sergeants on B-17 bombers. Both were shot down on the exact same day—February 22, 1944.

Casey still remembers that day vividly. “I lost my eye at that time and had a shrapnel wound and I was knocked out,” he shared.

Les landed in Denmark and was captured. Casey fell in Germany and was captured. Eventually, without knowing it, they were moved through the same prison camps.

They Were So Close Back Then and Didn’t Know It

“We were practically shaking hands, and yet, we didn’t know each other,” Casey said.

They endured brutal conditions, starvation, disease, and bitter cold. Les remembered it plainly: “We all had very severe dysentery, fleas, lice, and bed bugs. And, of course, the cold.”

Casey added that German guards told them it was “the worst winter in many years. The coldest winter.”

Those months included the infamous 86-day death march, where many fellow soldiers never survived. But by God’s mercy, both men did.

The War Was Finally Over and They Were Able to Go Home

Their liberation came quietly. Les was freed by the British; Casey by American troops. “Finally, for us, the war was over, and we were able to think of going home,” Casey said.

And then—81 years later—they met in person at an Air Force museum in Minnesota, on the occasion of Les’s birthday. Casey flew from New York to surprise him.

“We each brought our own memories back to each other,” Casey said. “We were together but didn’t even know it.”

They Are Now Planning a Trip Back to Poland

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Now, these two heroes are planning a trip back to Poland to visit the camps where they once suffered—this time, not as prisoners, but as living proof that God preserves, restores, and reunites.

Their story reminds us that God does not forget the roads we walked, not even the coldest ones. He has a way of letting threads finally meet, right when the heart is ready.

Psalm 128:1 “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

WATCH: 81 Years Later, Two WWII Veterans Meet And Discover They Survived the Same POW Camp

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h/t: CBS News

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/WCCO - CBS Minnesota

Heather Riggleman is a believer, wife, mom, author, social media consultant, and full-time writer. She lives in Minden, Nebraska with her kids, high school sweetheart, and three cats who are her entourage around the homestead. She is a former award-winning journalist with over 2,000 articles published. She is full of grace and grit, raw honesty, and truly believes tacos can solve just about any situation. You can find her on GodUpdates, iBelieve, Crosswalk, Hello Darling, Focus On The Family, and in Brio Magazine. Connect with her at www.HeatherRiggleman.com or on Facebook.