Dorothy R. (Eisenmenger) Stangl

World War II

Dorothy Eisenmenger was born on September 11, 1915, in Sherburn, MN to Robert and Theresa (Leibfried) Eisenmenger. By the early 1930’s, Dorothy was working as a cashier in Minneapolis, MN.

Dorothy enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps in Minneapolis on November 10, 1943. She was assigned serial number A-706752. The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was proving to be a very valuable part of the war effort. Dorothy was sent for basic training at Fort Des Moines, IA. A December, 1943, article in the Minneapolis Star included Dorothy as one of many to join the “Northwest Air-WAC’s” in response to a recruiting program by the Army Air Corps.

After basic training, Dorothy was assigned to the WAC Training Center at Fort Oglethorpe in northwest Georgia. It was at this time that she may have encountered August Stangl as he was assigned to the 701st MP Battalion at that facility.

On January 23, 1944, Dorothy was sent to Lowry Field near Denver, CO. Lowry Field was the location of the Army Air Corps Technical School which specialized in photography and armament. Dorothy was trained as a photo laboratory technician. By September, 1944, she was on furlough in Minneapolis.

The exact timing of her later movements is unclear but in late 1944 or early 1945, she was sent to New Guinea as a part of the Fifth Air Force. Her job was in the photo lab related to reconnaissance of enemy positions as well as assessing battle damage inflicted on the enemy. Based on this timing, it is likely she was at Milne Bay and worked with the 71st Reconnaissance Group. This group assisted in the final taking of New Guinea and Biak and later flew reconnaissance missions over the Philippines, China and Japan.

Dorothy remained on New Guinea through the end of the war in August, 1945, and would have endured all the ramifications of living in the jungle. She later returned to the United States and was discharged as a PFC (private first class) on November 27, 1945. She then returned to Minneapolis.

On September 30, 1946, Dorothy married August Stangl of Manning, IA at St. Edward Church in Minneota, MN. The couple settled on a farm near Manning. On June 8, 1954, August Stangl was killed when a gun he was carrying accidently fired as he was crossing a fence on their farm. Dorothy was left with five children ages seven and under and was also pregnant with their sixth child. She and her children subsequently moved into Manning.

Dorothy died in Manning on January 4, 1992 at age 76. She was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.