May 8 marked the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. This day recognizes the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on May 8, 1945. We honor all who served and sacrificed their lives during World War II.

We are proud to partner with Beyond The Call to bring to you WWII Veteran Sandlin Gillen’s story. He served bravely with the 106th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge. During the winter of 1944-45, Sandlin was captured, becoming a POW and enduring little to no food, hard labor, torture, and the bitter cold. With the end of the war in sight, Sandlin recalls his liberation day out of Stalag 9B. He had survived the war and would return home with his fellow comrades to pick up their lives.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Archives