Charlie Dukes (Co. L, 413th Inf. 104th Timberwolf Div.) was one of the last documented World War II prisoners of war (POW) to be repatriated at the end of the war. He reached Allied lines at the Elbe river on May 27, 1945, some 20 days after the end of the war and after escaping from a Russian-controlled camp at Luckenwalde, Germany. After his discharge from the Army, Dukes finished college and married his college sweetheart, Gracie Schwab, and helped raise their family of two boys and two girls in his native Georgetown, Illinois. Now retired from banking and his own business ventures, this combat veteran and former POW spends his time carrying his message to students in area schools as a "living link to history." Emphasizing freedom and self-discipline, he speaks about his experiences, beliefs and convictions, cautioning young people to guard their freedom zealously. Dukes has also opened a World War II museum of memorabilia he has collected over the years.