There were about lO,OOO British and American POW's who gradually
left the compound. We formed a line down the road to the southwest
through the pine forest, in the cold, as the snow fell gently. We
looked back, Bruce and I, at our home for the past eight months.
There was a red glow in the sky above our compound as someone, in a
last act of defiance, had set fire to his barracks before leaving.
This march was to last for six days and we were to walk sixty two
miles. There was about four inches of snow on the ground. and during
the first mile we began to realize that we were too weak to carry
everything. I took the heaviest cans of food out of my coat and threw
them in the snow. I kept the powdered milk as it was the lightest and
most nourishing food. Soon the road was littered with food and extra
clothing. We knew that we would need the food later, but it was a
choice between that or falling behind and possibly losing our
friends. About a mile down the road we could hear the Russian guns
getting much louder (they were thirty miles away). Suddenly there
were some rifle shots and we all scattered off the road, diving head
first into the snowy brush. It turned out to be a false alarm so we
stopped praying and got back onto the road. At daylight the wind
began to blow and for the next two days we marched in a blizzard. We
stopped at intervals for ten minute rest periods, dropped into the
snow and just dreaded getting up again. We marched this way until
noon the following day when we reached Freiwaldu, a distance of
eighteen miles in eleven hours. We stopped at a farm house and the
barn was full so Bruce and I laid down in the snow against the back
of the barn out of the wind. During the afternoon we took turns going
to the farmhouse to get warm. Bruce and I got into the kitchen and
the farmer and his wife were there just looking bewildered. The
German soldiers were noted for taking everything from the people in
the countryside in the places they occupied and the Americans were
just the opposite. After our time was up and we were warm, Bruce and
I took some cans of food out of our packs and gave them to the woman.
It was our way of saying thanks to them for allowing us to get warm
and we received a smile from her as thanks. Then we returned to the
blizzard. Later on during the march we did pick up some things
around the farms and it must have been hard for the farm people.
Having thousands of Americans crowding into every space must have
been traumatic for them. The British prisoners were soon mixed in
with us, as all became scattered in line. They were the most amazing
people I have ever known. They were always happy and singing,
innovative in finding ways to carry their packs. After a few stops at
farms they would come down the road with baby buggies, carts and
makeshift hand carts created from old wheels they found. I recall one
group with packs piled high in a buggy. They also found sleds which
worked until the snow melted. Under the miserable conditions no one
gave thought to trying to escape. The American colonel who was in
charge of us recommended that we stick together for reasons of
safety. We had few guards with us and they were mostly old men. The
old man with our group rode a bicycle and carried a rifle. It wasn't
long before he was walking too and when we had rest stops we
immediately fell to working on the blisters we had developed on our
feet. We even patched up the guard's feet and it wasn't long before
we took turns carrying his rifle and pack. This was the only way that
he could keep up and we felt sorry for him. We began again at 6 PM
and marched all night in the blizzard. The next day we arrived at a
little village named Muskau. Thus far all we had to eat was cold food
that we were carrying and some bread the Germans had given us. We
were so cold and hungry as we looked for a place to get inside.
Bruce and I found a place inside a small stone church in the center
of town. We were crowded in so tightly that the only spot Bruce and
I could find to sleep was next to the altar. On each side of the
altar was a section filled with dirt, with many small white crosses
stuck in the dirt. We removed enough crosses to make a place to lie
down and when we left we smoothed the ground and replaced the
crosses. This was Monday and the first sleep we had since the Friday
before. We were very weak and desperately needed it. It was also a
relief to get inside away from the cold and snow. We were sti11
eating cold food and more bread from the Germans. With so many men on
the move, they had no way to feed us and by this time in the war they
barely had enough for themselves anyway. I know our guards had even
less than we did. When we started marching again we were really in
bad shape. We were so weak with aching muscles and blistered feet
that we began to worry about whether or not we could keep going. The
boys from our barracks were still together and wanted to keep it that
way. The only good thing was that the blizzard had stopped and it was
beginning to thaw a little. Many of the guys were falling out now and
laying along side the road. Bruce and I were having trouble and soon
our knees began to buckle and we would fall down. Our legs were so
weak that they wouldn't hold us up any longer. We would help each
other up and go a little further. After several falls we crawled to
the side of the road to rest awhile. We were worried about being
separated from our group so struggled on as long as we could.
Finally, so far behind our group, we gave up. After many falls we
decided to lay there on the ground with the others who had dropped
out. Then we began to worry about what the, Germans might do to us
and concluded that we might be shot. That thought was enough to make
us get up and keep going no matter what. We made it to Sremburg where
we were going to spend the night. When we later arrived at Nuremburg
we discovered that those guys who had fallen out along the road had
been picked up by trucks at the end of the line and sent by train to
the camps to which we eventually marched. They got there a week ahead
of us. Ironic things like this seemed to happen to me all through
these years. I stayed that night in a very large building 1ike a gym
or a warehouse and we were packed in so tightly that there was barely
room to lay down. There was only one small light bulb hanging about
forty feet up on the ceiling. You couldn't see anything once it got
dark. In the night when someone had to go to the bathroom there was
no light to see by or room to keep from stepping on someone. We just
ran as fast as we could, with our shoes off, over the top of
everyone. There was only one small door at the far end of the
building and everyone that was stepped on would yell, swear and wake
up the rest of us. At least it was dark so they didn't know who did
it to them. When we got up the next morning they were passing out
watery barley soup from a big drum outside the building. This was the
first hot food we had had in four days and we were very hungry. I got
a cup full and took a big drink of it. The broth was so hot I burned
my tongue and mouth so I couldn't taste the rest of it. I downed it
all and was warmed inside. I was lucky not to have any back problems
on this march as the weight of all my belongings in the bottom of the
coat really pulled on my shoulders. When we left this place we walked
a few miles to the railroad yards where we were to make the two day
trip by train to Nuremburg and Camp X-111D. By this time we were all
getting diarrhea from drinking the water we got along the march. It
was not the same as the spring water we had in Sagan. With all the
cloths we were wearing it was not easy to suffer from diarrhea. At
this time we thought the worst of the march was over as at last we
were getting a ride, but it was nearly a disaster. We were put into
box cars, fifty men to a car with out guard. We were packed in so
tightly we could not sit down and there was very little air. In order
to sleep, we sat down all wound around each other and tried to Keep
our heads out at best. A couple of the guys fastened their blankets
across the corners on nails and made a hammock in order to make more
room. It didn't help much because they were always getting in and out
due to the diarrhea. There was always someone at the door in a bit of
a rush waiting for the guard to unlock and open the door. Two guys
would hold the victim by the arms while he let his rear hang out the
door. When the train made stops we were all outside immediately with
the same problem. One time the train stopped at a station in the
middle of a city and we all jumped out onto the platform between the
trains with the same problem. We all went right there on the platform
with the German civilians walking around us. We didn't have time to
be embarrassed as we couldn't wait any longer. We were so miserable
we didn't care any more and everyone was in the same condition. After
two days of this we arrived at Nuremburg. It was approximately
February 4. We were farther south now and the weather was a little
warmer. We were relieved to have made the trip without being strafed
or bombed by our own comrades as we knew the Allies were aiming at
all the trains they could find. It just gave us out more thing to
worry about. We walked three miles to the new camp outside
Nuremburg. The conditions at this camp were much worse than those at
Sagan. The camp had been used by Italian officers who were prisoners
and it was filthy, dirty and muddy. Bruce and I managed to stay
together and get into the same barracks but we had lost Ullo and the
others from the barracks at Sagan. The barracks were in sections with
bunks for twelve men on one side of each section. A cooking area with
a table was on the opposite side with an aisle down the middle. Each
man did his own cooking on a stove which we turned on its side to
make more of a cooking surface. When we found something to burn, we
cooked on the stove. The remainder of the time we ate cold food. It
was becoming more difficult for the Red Cross to deliver food parcels
to us and some weeks we got half a parcel, other weeks none. We were
hungry all the time and gradually getting weaker. The water, however,
must have been good here as we were finally getting over the
diarrhea. I should mention one of the observations I made about men
at this time and know I'll always remember. The prison experience
really separated the men from the boys, as the saying goes. I suppose
it was because of their background that some of the biggest and
strongest men were the ones that could not take this situation. They
couldn't carry packs, cook, even light a fire and needed the most
help during the toughest parts. The men you least expected to would
become a tower of strength. It made me realize that I was a better
man than many of the men I would normally have looked up to. There
was a dirt road through the center of camp and we used this for
walking for exercise. We didn't get enough food to exercise much and
there was no room for sports. One of the guard towers was close to
our barracks and it had a searchlight which rotated back and forth at
night to keep us in our buildings after dark. They threatened to
shoot anyone outside after dark as there was no wide open space
between our barrack and the barbed wire fence with the pine woods
beyond. They also didn't have the large guard dogs loose in this
camp. We didn't have any hot water here so we did not take any baths
or wash our clothes for two months. Our mattresses were burlap filled
with shredded paper and so filthy that every day that the sun shone
we would take them outdoors to air with our blankets. We soon
discovered we were infested with bedbugs lice and fleas. Don't ask me
why but they never bothered me at all. I would lay on my bunk and
they were so thick that I could see them jump from the guy on my
right to me then on to Bruce on the next bunk. Some guys were scarred
all over their bodies from the bites, but I can't remember having a
single bite. A boy named Lindstom was in the bottom corner bunk and
he was so sick he didn't move the last three weeks we were there. His
skin was Just raw from the fleas. One of his buddies was feeding him
and I wondered what happened to him when we moved out of this camp as
he couldn't walk. When I was in Atlantic City for discharge I met him
on a street corner and had a visit with him so I knew he made it.
About a week before we left this camp, the Red Cross sent in some
insecticide and we put it all over ourselves and our clothes and
blankets. By the time we moved out a week later we had rid ourselves
of most of the insects. Next to our barracks was a large one room
building used for a wash house. It contained only some old sinks and
two cold water faucets so we seldom used it. The old boards ran up
and down on the sides and we were gradually taking them off the
building to use for fire wood for cooking. The Germans forbade it so
we had to sneak around when they were not looking. The nails would
make a terrible noise when you pulled the boards off so we would
loosen them very carefully during the daytime when the guards were
not looking and at night we would time the sweep of the searchlight
to dash out and rip one off, then run for the barracks before they
turned the searchlight back and shot us. The noise of the nails was
awfully loud in the night and would alert the guards. By the time we
left this camp, all that was left of the wash house was the roof. We
had outside toilet buildings for daytime use but no inside toilets
for nights although we weren't allowed out at night. At the and of
the barracks was a small room with a twenty gallon garbage can for
use at night. It had to be carried out by two men in the morning and
emptied into the outdoor toilet. It was almost always full and
running over when you carried it. We drew cards every morning and the
two low cards got that dirty Job. Bruce had terrible luck and got the
low card about twice a week whereas I only did it once or twice. We
didn't have any toilet paper, but. found that a cigarette pack
contained four sheets of thin paper if you separated it carefully. I
cut the tail off one of my shirts and used that then washed it out in
the wash house. One day there was a rumor going around that a
shipment of toilet paper was coming in and we all lined us to get it.
By the time it was divided up each man received three sheets. Big
deal! We finally got a chance to take a shower at the other end of
the camp, about a mile down the road that ran through the camp. Every
so far in that wash building there was a one inch pipe hanging from
the ceiling. They only turned the hot water on for a few minutes for
each group so you had to work very fast. About five guys would get
under a pipe and we would Jostle to all get wet as it was only a
small stream of water coming out. We soaped ourselves then crowded
under again to wash the soap off before the water was turned off. In
our group were four or five white men and one black man. We must have
made a beautiful sight all trying to get under the water at once. As
I look back on it this is what was meant by true integration! On the
walk back to our barracks some of the guys were too weak to make the
trip and fell down. We didn't realize that in our weakened Condition
the hot water was too much for our systems. The stronger men carried
the weaker ones between them back to the barracks. This was the only
good bath I had during the final two months as a prisoner. Each
morning we had to line up outside for roll call which was the way
they kept track of the number in each barracks to determine that no
one had escaped. We had a bugle player who played revile when the
German Camp Commander and his group came in every morning. As soon as
they arrived Inside the wire he would start playing a swinging
revile. He really played some hot music and we would clap and cheer
which made the Germans angry. We stood there while they counted us
and once in awhile someone too weak to stand would fall and lay there
on the ground. After roll call we would carry them back to the
barracks. Most of the weakness was caused by inactivity and having
only barely enough food to survive. Once a day they gave each of us a
cup of soup which was all that they prepared in the cookhouse at this
camp. One soup was barley and water (mostly water) and a dirty gray
color. The other was a green soup made with dehydrated vegetables.
This soup had black bugs, about the size of ladybugs, floating on top
of it. Some of the guys could never eat this soup but I was so hungry
that I did. At first I took my spoon and skimmed all the bugs off the
top and ate the rest. I wondered why it was so crunchy until I
discovered that there was a beetle inside all the dehydrated peas in
the soup. After that I just stirred the soup up and ate it as fast as
I could. These two months were very nerve wracking due to the
continual bombing of Nuremburg which was only three miles away. The
Americans bombed it almost every day and the British at night.
Nuremburg had a large railroad terminal and was a favorite target.
When the bombs fell, the ground and barracks would shake and
everything fell off the shelves as the windows broke. During one raid
the bombs were so close that one wall of our barracks moved Six
inches. At night we crawled under the lower bunk together for safety
as we couldn't leave the building. In the daytime we look two bed
slats with the blanket folded on top and held it over our heads to go
outside and watch the bombing. This was to protect our heads from all
the shrapnel that was falling on the camp. The camp was right in the
middle of the ring of big German anti aircraft guns that circled
Nuremburg. One of these guns was in the woods just over the fence
from our barracks and the noise was terrific. We watched the smoke
rising from the city of Nuremburg those days and nights. When the
British bombed at night they dropped flares which lit up the entire
area and the searchlights that were probing the sky. We watched from
our windows and worried that a bomb meant for the railroad yards so
near us would fall on our camp. We had begun to dig trenches, but
they were only a couple of feel deep so we never used them. We were
more interested in just standing around and watching the planes go
over. We began to see more of our fighter planes flying down low and
one day a P-51 flew very slow1y over the middle of our camp, only a
hundred feet up. We could see the pilot and we all ran around waving
our arms and yelling at him to get out of here before he was shot
down. We began to hear rumors and sounds of battle again and were
told we would be moved. We didn't know where, but after the poor food
monotony and misery we had had for two months, we were glad to be
leaving this place. We didn't need to prepare for this march because
we had nothing but the clothes on our backs and blankets so were
ready to go any time.