WWII veteran and liberator of Plzeň Herman Geist dies at 100

World War II veteran Herman Geist, one of the American liberators of Plzeň and western Bohemia, passed away in the United States on June 28, at the age of 100.

Representatives of the West Bohemian city paid tribute to his memory on Tuesday, laying flowers at the Thank You, America! memorial and at the monument to the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division on Chodské Square. In the coming days, members of the public will be able to sign a condolence book placed in the entrance hall of Plzeň City Hall, the municipality announced on its website.

Geist was a regular guest at Plzeň’s annual Freedom Festival. During the war, he served as a lieutenant in the 38th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, which entered Plzeň on May 6, 1945.