By Jill Fennema –

Rolland Schelhaas was born to Albert and Jennie Schelhaas on Dec. 31, 1936. He was the third of four children.

When he was 22 years old, Rolland, or Rolly as his friends called him, volunteered for the draft with his friend Gerhardt Van Dam. They figured that they would be drafted later that same year, so they decided to volunteer.

“That way we could go together,” Rolly said. They left for basic training on April 1, 1959, heading to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Rolly’s family – especially his father – would miss his help on the farm. He had just started a custom baling business two years before so he was leaving during a busy time of the year. His mom said that for many weeks, Albert walked around like he had lost his best friend.

It was miserable, cold, and wet at Ft. Leonard Wood. Gerhard got sick and after a few weeks their paths separated – Rolly went to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, for field artillery radar training. Three weeks later, Gerhardt would join him at Ft. Sill, but was in a different class and three weeks behind Rolly.

Radar training lasted nine weeks. While taking those classes, Rolly said that he did not have any other duties. Their job was to track the mortar shells that the enemy fired so that they could give the location of the enemy to their own troops.

After his training he was shipped to New York and from there he and a thousand other troops set out across the Atlantic Ocean, bound for Bremerhaven, Germany.

The trip across the ocean took a week. Some people were very sick, but Rolly did not experience that. “I just lived on crackers,” he recalls with a laugh. The food was not bad, but the boat smelled and was heavily laden with cargo and soldiers – including vehicles. The soldiers had various duties during the trip, including cleaning, painting, and repairing things on the ship.

Once in Germany, Rolly was stationed at Scharfenberg, Germany, about 20 miles from Frankfurt. They lived in army barracks that were used by the German army in World War II.

“You don’t know the army until you’re in the army,” Rolly said. That’s one of the things that he learned to say during his 18 months of service. Another thing he and the other soldiers always said was, “They can’t make you do anything, but they can sure make you sorry you didn’t.”

Pfc. Rolland Schelhaas outside the training center at Ft. Sill.

Rolland Schelhaas drove the jeep for the company commander when he was stationed in Germany.

While stationed overseas, Rolly made a decision to make the best of his time. He saved up his furlough time and used it to travel around Europe and see the sights. He visited the Netherlands, England, France, and Austria. He saw Buckingham Palace, Anne Frank’s house, Big Ben, and the Brandenburg Gate – which was heavily guarded by troops on both sides – U.S. and German troops on the west side and communist troops on the east side. He was also able to go into East Berlin and see Hitler’s bunker and tunnel.

Two sites that he was most impressed by were the Wittenberg Church where Martin Luther hung his 95 Theses on the wall and Heidelberg where the Heidelberg Catechism was written.  Being in those places that have such a bearing on his faith and church life was impressive to him.

Rolly met a fellow soldier named Raymond who he became friends with. They went on a lot of these trips together. They often attended chapel together as well.

Of army service, Rolly said, “You can use it to your advantage, or you can put your time in. My time in the army was good, as far as I was concerned.” While serving he was able to earn his high school diploma and he took two mechanic’s courses.