Interviewed by:
Gayle McNulty and Butch Neyton

"Italian prisoners were our chefs. I didn't know whether we should eat the food or not. So, for 3 months I survived on peanuts and frappes, with eggs and milk and all kind of junk in the frappe."
~ William Rangnow 14:53

William Rangnow's Story:

William Rangnow, resident of Orleans Mass, grew up off Cape in different cities across the U.S. like Philadelphia and Syracuse. He was raised in a military family because his father fought in World War 1, over in France. As a kid, Bill enjoyed participating sports, life football or track.

At the age of eighteen, William enlisted into the Navy, with dreams of becoming a pilot. In April of 1941, Bill left his home to go to Williams College for training. After about three months at Williams College he was moved to a new training base. This happened six times in total until he was moved to a more permanent base.

After training, Bill was moved to a base on Coronado Island in California. There he worked as both a co-pilot and a pilot. He stayed here until his discharge at the end of the second world war.

Once home, William went back and continued college, and eventually worked as a sales associate for a majority of his life. He was married in 1950 and eventually had five children. After buying a home on Cape Cod in the 80s, Bill retired and stayed with his wife. About six years ago he moved into the Terraces apartments in Orleans, where he now lives.