99-year-old Wisconsin veteran says he’d re-enlist if Trump were president

Sgt. William “Bill” Pekrul, a Milwaukee native and World War II veteran, told the RNC crowd that “America is still worth fighting for” during his Wednesday night speech in downtown Milwaukee.

The hometown hero’s entrance on stage drew a thunderous applause and chants yelling “U.S.A.” And it didn’t end there − almost every line he delivered garnered the same applause and patriotic chants.

The highlight of the speech for RNC delegates came when Pekrul, 99, said if former President Donald Trump became president again “I would go back to re-enlist today.”

“I would storm whatever beach … my country needs me to.”

The theme for the third night of the convention was “Make America Strong Once Again.”

A self-proclaimed proud Wisconsinite, Pekrul signed up for the U.S. Army at Boys Tech High School (now Bradley Tech), according to an interview with the War Memorial Center that he gave as part of the Wisconsin Veterans Story Project.

Pekrul fought with the 29th Infantry in the second wave of troops during the Normandy Invasion on D-Day. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star for his service in WWII.

He received additional recognition locally since, including in 2019 when he served as Grand Marshall of Milwaukee’s Veterans Day Parade.

During Wednesday evening’s remarks he said he was honored to be a part of America’s “greatest generation,” a term used to describe those born from 1900 through the 1920s, because “America is the greatest nation in the history of the world.”

Part of Pekrul’s speech also appeared briefly on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Wednesday. Pekrul described the end of World War II, saying “the Nazis were defeated.”

“For a while, Bill. For a while,” Colbert quipped, hinting that the current Republican party might bear some resemblance to Nazi Germany.