Bill Renter of Bayard never thought much about signing up to answer the call to defend his country. After he returned home from World War II, he did what many veterans did – he just got on with life. As he looks back at his life, he’s happy he’s kept his wit and charm and that people still remember the sacrifice he and others have made.
IRENE NORTH
Nspire Today! Feature Writer
BAYARD – Bill Renter sits in his room at Chimney Rock Villa surrounded by birthday wishes from strangers. He is among the last remaining veterans of World War II, and well wishers wanted to make sure his day was a happy one and let him know he isn’t forgotten.
Renter was born in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, and spent part of his formative years in the shadow of the university. His father worked at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a groundskeeper mowing lawns. He grew up like most boys at the time did. He hadn’t yet decided what he was going to do with his life when the war came to America.
Pearl Harbor was attacked. He and 36 classmates enlisted in the Army two weeks before graduation. The idea was they would all go together to fight in the war, but none of them saw action together. He was 17 years old.
“We were all more or less athletes, and we thought we’d all get to go together, so we thought let’s join the Army in a group and go together,” he said. “We all got split up.”
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