By Deborah Larsen

Arnold William Schilke

Arnold William Schilke was born in 1926 in Wild Rose, North Dakota, the son of Reinhold and Irene Evanson Schilke. His family moved to Rochester, Michigan, in 1944, and Arnold completed his last semester of school at Rochester High School, graduating in the class of 1945.

Immediately after graduation, Arnold entered the U.S. Army. He was sent to Texas for infantry training, but was then transferred to the Corps of Engineers and sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he trained as a blacksmith. The war ended about the time that he finished his training, and Arnold decided to join the regular Army.

Arnold was then sent to Germany with the Corps of Engineers, and his unit was tasked with building bridges to facilitate the movement of tanks and other equipment used by the Allied occupation forces under General George Patton.

Arnold was released from military service in late 1947 and made it home to Rochester just in time to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with his family. After the war, he went on to a 21-year career with the A & P grocery chain.

On May 7, 2025, at age 98, Arnold visited Rochester’s World War II Honor Roll to recall his time in service and his comrades in arms. Arnold wore his uniform for the occasion and brought along a photo of himself in uniform in 1945. In the attached photo, the uniform he is wearing is the same one that he is wearing in the 1945 photo that he is holding.