My Incredible Journey

Autobiography of Ossie Langfelder's (former Mayor of Springfield, Illinois) journey from Vienna, Austria to America during World War II.

Ossie Langfelder began his incredible journey in Vienna, Austria. He was born in this cultural city on August 2, 1926. Born to a Lutheran mother and Jewsih father, he was uprooted at the young age of twelve because of the Nazi uprising. Fleeing because of his father’s religion, Switzerland and England became his temporary home. Upon receiving his temporary visa for the United States, he and his family traveled through Canada, and then arrived in New York City in 1940. Because of his father’s job opportunity, his family moved to Chicago, and shortly thereafter, they came to settle in Springfield, Illinois. After enlisting in the army, he continued his college education at SCI in Springfield and Purdue University. Ossie married Mary Agnes Dunham and settled in Springfield and after years of working in the engineering field, he became Mayor of the City of Springfield. From a middle class family torn from their homeland by war and discrimination, his life story is one of courage, determination, and sacrifice. May his story inspire his thirteen children and thirty grandchildren and those who read his Incredible Journey.