Otto Prebeck, Jr.

World War II

Otto Prebeck, Jr. was born near Templeton on March 22, 1915, to Otto, Sr. and Hedwig (Kraus) Prebeck. Both Otto, Sr. and Hedwig had been born in Bavaria, Germany but they were married in Templeton. The family farmed in Eden township but moved south to Cameron township in Audubon County in the 1930’s.

Otto, Jr. registered for the military draft on October 16, 1940, and listed his employer as Joseph Soyer of Carroll. He also worked as a farm laborer in Audubon County. Otto, Jr. was inducted into the US Army on June 6, 1942, at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was assigned serial number 37 198 260.

The location of Otto’s basic training has not been determined but could have been at Fort Leavenworth. His training after that focused on anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and, by late 1942, he was stationed for a short time at Portsmouth, VA. By January 29, 1943, Otto was a member of Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion of the 74th AAA Regiment and stationed at Camp A.P. Hill near Fredericksburg, VA. By March 11, 1943, the unit had moved to Fort Meade near Baltimore, MD.

It is unknown if Otto’s unit continued to move but Otto was stationed at Buffalo, NY by June 23, 1943. He had also been promoted to PFC (private first class). He remained in Buffalo until being transferred to Fort Fisher on the North Carolina coast on March 15, 1944. There he was a member of Headquarters Battery of the 372nd AAA Searchlight Battalion.

It is unknown if Otto received any new training after this time. He departed the United States for Europe on February 16, 1945. Once there, Otto was assigned to Company C of the 2827th Combat Engineer Battalion which seems to be a much different unit than his previous training prepared him for. The 2827th Combat Engineers had been redesignated from the 2nd Battalion of the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment on February 1, 1945. Otto described his role as utility repairman.

Otto and his unit landed in France and, according to daily reports, were in training until March 9, 1945. At that time, they became actively involved in the US Army’s push toward Germany. The unit repaired and built roads and bridges, managed Bailey bridges, dismantled barriers and even built a prisoner of war stockade. They were not on the front lines but did experience frequent attacks.

By the end of March, 1945, they had crossed the German border and were in the Rhineland. The 2827th Combat Engineers were now a part of the US VI Corps and were ordered to move into southern Germany. After crossing the Rhine, they continued supporting the Allied advance and linked up with the US Fifth Army that had fought their way north through Italy. By the war’s end on May 8, 1945, Otto and his unit were in Garmisch in southern Bavaria, the homeland of his parents.

Some units of the VI Corps moved into Austria but nothing has been found to indicate the 2827th Combat Engineers were part of that movement. Repair work continued as a part of the Occupation of Germany. Otto returned to the United States on February 8, 1946, and he was discharged on February 15. He returned to Templeton where he lived the remainder of his life. He never married. Otto died at the VA Hospital in Des Moines on March 5, 1983 at age 67. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.