POW

We were not treated badly by the unit which captured us. My watch was taken but a kit of toilet articles I had tied to my belt was not taken. We were taken before an officer who appeared to be at least a Captain. He said many angry words to us which we could not understand but I think he was angry about the toll we had taken on his unit. We were walked out of the area, under guard, down the road toward Losheim. Many tanks were coming up the road and the crews jeered at us as they passed. There were also a lot of horse drawn vehicles as the gas supply was limited in this last great push ordered by Hitler himself. We had not gone far when I was hustled into a car with two other prisoners. We were driven to a house not too far from Losheim where we were interogated in English at some length. Could not tell them anything - the Rule says only name, rank and serial number. However they seemed to know more than we did. I was offered bread and marmalade - but I turned it down. Not at all hungry after all the stress. I later wished that I had accepted it.

As an aside, nine years later, Julia and I visited the site of my capture. We took slides of the area and one of them shows me standing in the depression that was all that was left of our dugout. The area is changed little since it is a National Forest and no construction is allowed there.

From the house we were taken to a Railroad station in a town east of Losheim. Many other prisoners were there. We were told that we had to give up our uniforms but that we would be supplied with clothes at the prison camp. (not true) We resisted the idea but they prevailed in the end because they had the guns. We later learned that our uniforms were used by Germans who acted as Military Police, misdirecting traffic etc. in the ensuing days of the battle. All we had left was our long underwear and boots. Next morning we were marched through the town in that condition and had to listen to the jeers and laughter of the townspeople. We, later in the day, met other prisoners and an armored unit soldier gave me a wool lined coverall and a shirt which is all I had to wear until liberated.

The next eleven days were some of the worst I have spent in my life. We were marched to Bonn and held there for a day. During that time a German guard knocked me down a flight of stairs. I had said nothing - I guess he did not like my attitude. We had practically no food during that time. I remember at one point there was a big vat of barley soup and we were allowed to dip our metal helmets in for a cup or two. Best soup I was to taste for months. We were then loaded into boxcars so tightly that on some of them we could hardly sit down. There were no windows. We changed boxcars 2 or 3 times and seemed to be generally headed south. The sanitary conditions were nil, but not so bad as one would expect - if you have nothing to eat you have nothing to void. We traveled mostly at night which I suppose was the practice for all trains in Germany to avoid air attacks. On Christmas day, 1944 we arrived at what was said to be our destination. I remember a sign that said Stadtkyl but I have been unable to locate it as a town. We were allowed to get out and stand in the woods where we remained all day. It was bitterly cold, and one does not know what real cold is without food and adequate clothing until it is experienced. Some tried to build a fire but it was stomped out by the guards. Finally, toward nightfall we were told that the nearby camp could not take us and we were loaded back up into the boxcars. In two more days we arrived at Nurnberg and were taken to Stalag XIIID near the Nazi Party stadium south east of the town.