Carroll Knutson was born in March 1924 in Santa Monica, California. Both his parents had children from their previous marriages so Knutson had one half brother and two half sisters. His father was employed as a "wildcatter" in the oil drilling business. His work took him away from the family quite a bit. Knutson moved very little in his youth but enjoyed adventurous and interesting summer vacations following his father's work. The Great Depression resulted in his family, like most all others, having to watch their pennies to make ends meet. Knutson enjoyed body surfing with his friends. It was on one such excursion that he heard over the radio about the Pearl Harbor attack. He did not think the Japanese had the resources for a prolonged war. He was surprised by their initial successes. After graduating from high school, Knutson received his parent's permission to enlist in the Aviation Cadet Program [Annotator's Note: the USAAF Aviation Cadet Training Program].

After he enlisted, Carroll Knutson was evaluated and selected for training as a pilot. His training began at Maxwell Field in Alabama [Annotator's Note: Montgomery, Alabama] for primary flight school. His subsequent advanced training was so successful that he was asked if he would like to be an instructor. He rejected the offer and eventually became a copilot in a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] squadron. After deploying to England and completing additional training, he was reassigned to another squadron. The training he was given was far more extensive than that provided to his German counterparts at the time. That ultimately created a problem for the enemy with replacements. Knutson's first missions over England dealt with evaluating the performance of bombers that had been repaired or overhauled. Ultimately, the success of Knutson's training followed him to England and his plane was selected as the squadron lead crew after his fifth mission.

Carroll Knutson flew his first mission as part of the thousand bomber raid over Berlin. He discusses his feelings in crossing the English Channel en route to the target. The bombers made their own cloud of contrail clouds; while the enemy antiaircraft fire also generated clouds. Being a part of such a huge flight of aircraft, he felt protected by the enormous numbers of friendly planes. Each bomber had a combination of about 40 - 100 pound high explosive and incendiary bombs. The objective was to saturate an area of Berlin where rail yards and other vital industry existed. Although not completely accurate, they did inhibit transportation and activities in the area.

Carroll Knutson and his crew were leading the high squadron of a three squadron bombing group. Their target was a synthetic oil refinery at the edge of Hanover which was a major city. Destruction of the enemy's fuel supply was a priority objective. While in formation, under heavy flak defensive fire, a blaze ignited on one wing. Requested to drop out of formation so as not to endanger the other crews, Knutson's crew proceeded to the drop zone to expend their ordnance over target. They then departed the group. In an attempt to extinguish the fire, the plane fell to less than 10,000 feet. At that point, it was decided to abandon the ship. The crew bailed out. One man was wounded by the flak and had to be assisted. He was nearly lost due to friendly fire after being captured by the Germans. All the crew safely made it to the ground and would return to the United States after the war.

Carroll Knutson was captured by the Germans after his bomber was shot down. He and other POWs had to survive in captivity by outwitting their German guards. He was held in Stalag Luft III in Zagań, Poland. The escape activities depicted in the movie "The Great Escape" occurred in the Stalag but not in the same compound that held Knutson. Surreptitious radios kept the inmates aware of the news of the war. Propaganda abounded on both sides. Military discipline was maintained through the camp by Germans dealing with the Allied POW chain of command. There were mostly American officers from the Air Force but there were RAF [Annotator's Note: Royal Air Force] officers in a separate portion of the Stalag. The German Air Force ran the camp. The RAF POW officers included not only British but airmen from countries that had been overwhelmed by the Nazis. The foreign pilots had proven themselves to be outstanding during the Battle of Britain. Knutson was a second lieutenant so, during his captivity, he had no specific responsibilities. Most of those involved in "The Great Escape" had specific knowledge or qualifications that supported that operation. Of the 72 who escaped, 50 were shot. Knutson was in Stalag Luft III from the middle of June 1944 to the end of January 1945.

By the end of January 1945, Carroll Knutson could hear the artillery fire in the distance as the Soviets advanced into Poland near Stalag Luft III [Annotator's Note: near Zagań, Poland]. Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] ordered that the captured airmen be killed. The Germans decided instead to move the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] away from the Russians. The prisoners were to be marched out of the Stalag by their guards. The guards were either wounded or aged soldiers who were not combat ready. The logistic for movement of the POWs was not adequate. The marchers were to exist only on Red Cross parcels. The winter of 1944 and 1945 was extremely harsh. The weather would compound the difficulties in the march toward the west. Knutson improvised a sleeping bag and winter clothing out of available materials prior to the march. His shoes were in terrible condition for marching through the snow. He ended up with frostbite on his feet.

Carroll Knutson and his fellow POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] were forced marched by the Germans from their camp at Stalag Luft III through harsh winter weather. They did not have the benefit of proper clothing. They were marched to Stalag Luft VII at Moosberg, Germany to escape the oncoming Russian forces. The new camp was not as well run or regulated as Stalag Luft III. Barracks were jammed with prisoners. Tents had to be erected for the spillover. Although the Red Cross parcels were more plentiful, they never were received in the prescribed allowance of one per week except on limited basis. The latrine and shower were housed in the only building accessible to Knutson. He slept on the ground in a tent.

Carroll Knutson and his fellow POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] were liberated by Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S, Patton]. After a brief time, they were transport out of the camp and then brought home. Knutson anticipated being part of the invasion of the Japanese home islands. President Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman] prevented many deaths by deciding to drop the atomic bombs. Perhaps a quarter of the Japanese population would have lost their lives in the alternative battles to defeat the home islands. The fight would have been just as bloody as the island battles across the Pacific. The dropping of the bombs allowed the Japanese to save face because of the magnitude of destruction. When the war ended, Nagasaki was used as a major port because it was leveled and was easily set up as a logistic base with rail lines running out from it.

After the war, Carroll Knutson wanted to stay in the Army Air Forces and fly. Simultaneously, he was offered entry into West Point. Knutson could not picture himself entering West Point as a plebe [Annotator's Note: freshman students are referred to as plebes] and being hazed. He decided to use his veteran's benefits to attend a different school other than West Point. He entered Santa Monica City College. His degree was in science with his interest being in geology. His bachelor and master degrees were from Stanford using the G.I. Bill. He went to work in the field of research and received fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Knutson's employer supported him working part-time while achieving his doctorate. The G.I. Bill after World War 2 was far more supportive for the veterans of the period than that provided to former military personnel today. Knutson retired in 1996.

Carroll Knutson felt his military training was serious. An individual had to do well in order to succeed in the service. As a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war], he used the makeshift library in the Stalag to keep his mind active. He grew interested in the Roman Empire as a result of books read during those times. He eventually traveled to England and went to see Hadrian's Wall which the Roman's built for defense against the local aggressors. The wall is still there today. It was a means to rapidly deploy soldiers in the Roman era. Reading those Stalag library books expanded his interests. The war and his training enabled him to learn to fly. He had always wanted to do that since he was a youngster. While being a POW, he learned more about self-discipline and developed a black sense of humor. The latter has remained with him through the years.