Jim Feezel was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II who drove a tank through the gate of Dachau concentration camp, liberating its prisoners from the Nazis.
- Died: October 15, 2020 (Who else died on October 15?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Decatur, Alabama at the age of 95.
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Liberation of Dachau and later
Feezel joined the U.S. Army in 1944 and became a tech sergeant in the 12th Armored Division, driving a Sherman tank. He was driving the tank that rolled up to the front gate on April 29, 1945. Told by his commanding officer to drive the tank through the gate, Feezel did, creating an historic moment in the war as he helped free 30,000 prisoners. Feezel served through the end of the war before returning home to receive his degree in mechanical engineering. He later worked as a design engineer for Standard Oil and Amoco before becoming an international advisor and senior operations manager with Amoco Chemical.
Notable quote
“I often reckon with the very fact that I was such a small pebble in a large stream of thousands and thousands of men who went to fight this war.” —from a 2015 interview with The Decatur Daily
Tributes to Jim Feezel
Full obituary: AL.com
