Stalag Luft III Newsletter – November 2017
Dear Stalag Luft III POWs, Friends, and Families,
Hoping everyone had an enjoyable Veterans Day/Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving as we reflect on the service of so many:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_hKRn-NXBQ
and for our Canadian friends on Remembrance Day: (double click)
Happenings in Zagan
POW Carl Holmstrom was an excellent artist and lived in South Compound. High quality copies of Holmstrom’s works were donated by his children Susan, Elizabeth, and John in 2013. Thanks to them for allowing Marek to use the sketches to educate the people of Poland about the camp and the men who lived there. This display in a local school will remain for one year.
“Stalag Luft 3 – As Seen Through POW Carl Holmstrom’s Eyes”
Marek:
“Art works by Carl Holmstrom landed in Allied Airmen Primary School in Ilowa, (Halbau). [This is the town where Center Compound stopped to stay in the small church there during the march.] Portraits and drawings will be displayed near the history classroom. I officially opened the display last Friday and after the opening I did a Stalag Luft 3 presentation for the kids.”
2nd Lt. Carl Holmstrom, a B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier, was shot down on 1/3/43 after making an emergency landing behind enemy lines, thirty miles NW of Gabes, Tunisia. He was captured the next day and went to Dulag Luft for interrogation one day after being shot down. He remained in Hohemark hospital there from 1/5/43 to 3/3/43. He next moved to Oflag XXI-B in Schubin, Germany, arriving on 3/6/43 and leaving 4/17/43. He arrived at Stalag Luft III 4/18/43, in South Compound, barrack 135, room 14.
Holmstrom received the American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, and one Bronze Star. He was a famous portrait artist written about by Walter Winchell in his column. He was the author of “Kriegie Life,” a picture diary of his POW experience.
Marek with students
Marek tells the students about each POW.
Holmstrom’s picture on the right
Marek shows slides of the camp.
[I recognized this classroom! In 2009, when I and other sons and daughters, and relatives of SLIII POWs went back to replicate the Forced March of Jan. 1945, we stopped at this same school where the children had a big tea party for us, gave us gifts, and showed us around their school. It was a very memorable time for all of us. ]
Marek shows a map of the camp with Stalag VIIIC to the west of it.
Polish Units Flying with the RAF
While many American fliers were stationed around Norwich, England, Polish units were stationed in other areas of England:
Fighter Squadrons: 302, 303, 306, 307 (Night SQ), 308, 315, 316, 317 Bomb Squadrons: 300, 301, 304, 305 all flew out of England. The Polish fliers were the biggest Air Force within the RAF.
Polish Independence Day – Nov 11th
The day allowed for another patriotism lesson at the POW Camps Museum. Students from the local primary school visited the museum to celebrate. Marek arranged a full guided tour, and the teachers prepared a short test for the students. They had to answer a few simple questions about history of the POW Camps.
Taking the test
The students were very special guests as the No. 4 Primary School in Zagan carries the names of the victims of Stalag VIIIC.
School banner carried by a student
Zagan Has Surpassed Dresden
Nathan Huegen, Director of Educational Travel Operations, The National WWII Museum in New Orleans visited Marek recently.
Marek: “Our museum will replace Dresden in the 2018 historical tours organized by the WWII Museum. Zagan is now officially on the travel schedule taking Dresden’s place. [Day 4 of the tour] See link and YouTube clip.
POW Son Dick Butler Visits:
Dick’s father was in Center Compound in hut 56 and stayed in Center until the evacuation. He arrived in August 1943. Dick donated two books, including one written by a chaplain at SLIII, Eugene Daniel, In the Presence of Mine Enemies. Dick left a memorial plaque honoring his father:
Chaplain Daniel’s quote from the book in the Forced March chapter:
“One officer carried my communion chalice and paten. Happily, that communion set survived and is now on display on the communion table at Columbia Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Lieutenant Rueben Dahl, the officer who carried the communion set, became a Baptist minister.”
[I have since called the seminary to see if we can get a picture of the set.]
Censor’s Daughter Visits the Camp
Andrea Hatfield visited Marek on November 16th. Many will remember Andrea on the German Panel at the 2014 SLIII Reunion in Colorado Springs. Andrea is the daughter of German censor, Lisa Knuppel. After spending some time at the museum, Marek drove Andrea and her husband, Buck, to the camp where she could visit the Kommandantur and North camp. They also drove to the train station, saw the memorial to the 50 murdered after the Great Escape, and then went to Jeschkendorf, the former location of the manor house of Commandant von Lindeiner, who was Lisa’s boss when she served as his secretary. She visited there often.
Andrea stands beneath the picture of her mother, Lisa.
Andrea sits on the remaining foundation of the main and the longest building in the German Compound where Commandant von Lindeiner’s office was.
Inside the museum with Marek
More Visitors!
Jeff Williams, son of POW Sgt. Francis Williams, visited the museum on November 4. His father was with RAF 35 Squadron Bomber Command Pathfinders flying Hadley Page Halifaxes and was shot down over Holland. Jeff thought that his father was in Stalag Luft 3 as he had some POW letters with that postal stamp.
Marek: “In fact, his father was in Stalag IVB Mühlberg, one of the biggest POW camps within Germany during the WW2, and I discovered that when he showed me the letters. It turns out his father’s letters went through Stalag Luft 3 as they were censored here. Even though Jeff’s father was not in Stalag Luft III, Jeff decided to donate five letters and a small piece of his father’s parachute to the museum. After bail out, Jeff’s father’s face was cut and he used a piece of the chute to stop bleeding.
After the visit, I gave Jeff some directions how to get to Stalag IVB. Jeff e-mailed me later: ‘After getting over the initial disappointment of finding that Dad was not in Stalag Luft 3, we went to Stalag IVB and there is still a fair amount there. I was able to locate the exact place of the RAF Compound because it was in one of the only places left of the camp, ironically, the latrine.’”
POW picture of Sgt. Francis Williams – courtesy of his son Jeff Williams
Letters censored at SLIII
RAF parachute piece
Conference at Lamsdorf
“German POW Camps’ Sites in Poland. Forgotten or Discovered?” – That was the name of the all-Poland conference organized by Central POW Museum in Lambinowice (Lamsdorf). Stalag VIIIB (later renamed Stalag 344) Lamsdorf was opened in 1939 to house Polish prisoners captured during the German September 1939 offensive. Later, approximately 100,000 prisoners from Australia, Belgium, British India, British Palestine, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, the Soviet Union, and USA passed through this camp.
The Central POW Museum in Lambinowice, and POW Camps Museum in Zagan are two of the biggest POW museums in Poland.
According to Marek, there are many former German POW camps in today’s Poland but only a few were ever commemorated. There are just a few museums (Stalag VIIIC/Stalag Luft 3 in Zagan, Stalag VIIIA in Gorlitz, Stalag VIIIB Lambinowice/Lamsdorf, Oflag IIC. and Dobiegniew/Woldenberg). Some of the POW camps were commemorated with exhibitions in local historical museums, and some of the camps only with a plaque (located on the site).
Marek: “On 17th November 2017, people from all over Poland (museum directors, curators, historians) came to Lamsdorf to discuss the topic. I prepared a presentation about Zagan’s camps and the museum. I elaborated on directions for development of the museum and our current activities, contacts, and ways of funding. I did not talk much about the history of the camps or POW life as all these people were professionals, and they are dealing with the history of the POW camps every day. All the lecturers were amazed and impressed by the number of the visitors in our museum (approx. 12,000 a year) which was the biggest number among all of the places represented during the conference. It was a great meeting and again great publicity for the museum. “
Marek’s presentation
Discussion
POW Son Visits Marek
Gene Speer’s father, Frank, was in Hut #160, room 16, in West Compound. He was a fighter pilot – P-51 Mustang (4th Fighter Group) and was shot down in May 1944.
Gene presented his father’s book, “One Down, One Dead” to Marek.
“There is a chapter on his Squadron Commander Mike Sobanski. He is on the cover of the book, on the left. Mike was a Pole; he was born while his mother visited friends in the US, and he automatically became a US citizen. But they came back to Poland, and he grew up here. In 1939, he joined the Polish Army (infantry), but after the defence war of Poland was over he used his US passport to fly to America. He joined the Army Air Corps and came back to Europe to beat the Germans. He was killed during D-Day. During his last mission, he flew Speer’s Mustang, ‘Turnip Termite.’ Frank Speer wrote in his book: ‘That day I lost my two friends: Mike and “Turnip Termite.’”
There is a humorous story in the book alluded to in other POW memoirs. Kriegies liked to poke fun at the Germans. They tried to fool the guards by telling them that the large amount of vitamin C pills sent in the Red Cross parcels made them able to see things in total darkness. The German guard was inspecting the barracks with his flashlight during a bed check. He entered one of the rooms which was in total darkness. As he shone his light around the room, he saw the men in their bunks reading books, and men at the table playing cards, sewing, etc.
West Compound Books:
https://www.amazon.com/Elusive-Horizons-Keith-C-Schuyler/dp/0380765748
Marek got this link from an US soldier who is now stationed in Zagan. His friend’s relative was in West Compound. His name was 2nd Lt. Dale E. Rauscher (hut 160).
Two other books of interest for those interested in West Compound are:
Escape from Terror by Paul Burton.
and
Bulletproof by Robert Barney.
Link to West Compound Log Book – POW son, Dick Olson – US
Use the following link to look at the pages in this Wartime Log. They are sorted in order, and you can use the right/left arrows in the top right to scroll through them. The browser window is not very friendly.
South Compound Senior American Officers
TCG (#1744) right end of 1st row, Griff Williams could be 7th fm. left & Davey Jones 3rd fm. right in 3rd row. Center row, 3rd Lt. Col. (later Gen.) A.P.Clark, friend of Davey Jones, July 18, 1944
Third row (L-R): Thomas B. Fleming, Walter C. Beckham, Stanley E. Hall, James E. Obrien, Charles H. Diamond, Robert E. Adamina, Griffith P. Williams (Doolittle Raider), Everett B. Howe, William A. Lanford, David M. Jones (Doolittle Raider, and Great Escape tunneller), Richard Aldrigde;
Middle row (L-R): Melvin McNickle, Richard P. Klocko, Albert P. Clark, Joseph A. Miller, Charles G. Goodrich (SAO), Lewis R. Parker, Jacob E. Smart, Charles D. Jones, Robert M. Stillman;
First row (sitting L-R): Hugh L. Williamson, Robert B. Short, Norman L. Widen, Abraham L. Burden, Murdo MacDonald , Jack M. Shuck, John H. Embach, Thomas C. Griffin (Doolittle Raider).
The picture was taken on the sports field of South Camp. German huts are in the background.
Mike Eberhardt Visits Mighty 8th Museum in Georgia
During Mike’s visit, he found the jacket of the late SLIII POW Irv Baum. The museum has an excellent POW display that many might want to visit as well.
Irv’s Jacket
Part of Irv’s story is beside his jacket:
The museum also has a nice display paying tribute to Polish fliers:
New Picture of the Library in South Compound – POW son, Mike Woodworth
POW Paul Shinsky (South, hut 128) is sitting on the right. His family visited the museum few years ago.
Does anyone recognize any of these men? Mike located this picture and several other interesting ones, some taken at Stalag VIIA, on this link, from Emory University:
Lancaster Flies over Vet’s Funeral – Ed Zander – Canada
Dedication of the POW/MIA Chair at the US Capitol – SLIII POW Kenneth Collins – US
Link to the unveiling ceremony at the Capitol:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QXx-KYl7oUM
Arlington Cemetery – POW daughter, Carol Godwin – US
Carol, a relative of Paul Tibbets who flew the B-29 Enola Gay and dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima, is the daughter of SLIII POW Capt. William Carey, who was a chief operative in Military Intelligence Service-X ( MIS-X), which was highly secret and functioned out of Ft. Hunt in Alexandria, VA. She has volunteered to serve as an Army Arlington Lady since 1995. Army Arlington Ladies, of which there are approximately 60 (each must be an Army spouse or Army member), represent the Chief of Staff of the Army and his wife and the entire Army Family at the graveside service for every Army member buried at Arlington National Cemetery. [This includes our POWs who were Army Air Corps.] Arlington Ladies make sure that no Army soldier is without an Army Family member as he or she is laid to rest at a formal Army Full Honors or Standard Honors graveside service.
At each Army funeral, the Army Arlington Lady is escorted on the arm of a member of The Old Guard (see below) specially assigned for this duty; after the 21 gun salute, the Army bugler plays taps, and Old Guard casket team fold the flag which is presented to the next of kin. The Army Arlington Lady approaches the family, explains who she represents, provides condolence from the entire Army Family, thanks the family for their loved one’s service and for their service as a supportive Army Family, and presents the next of kin with an engraved card from the Army Chief of Staff as well as an Army Arlington Lady engraved card with her personally written note.
“Over the years, I have received many very kind words from the next of kin. Serving as an Army Arlington Lady is a deeply felt privilege to be with the soldiers’ families as one of the last to bid them farewell.”
The Old Guard
The 3d U.S. Infantry, traditionally known as “The Old Guard,” is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving our nation since 1784. It is the Army’s official ceremonial unit and escort to the president, and it also provides security for Washington, D.C. in time of national emergency or civil disturbance.
The unit received its unique name from Gen. Winfield Scott during a victory parade at Mexico City in 1847 following its valorous performance in the Mexican War. Fifty campaign streamers attest to the 3d Infantry’s long history of service, which spans from the Battle of Fallen Timbers to World War II and Vietnam.
Since World War II, The Old Guard has served as the official Army Honor Guard and escort to the president. In that capacity, 3d Infantry soldiers are responsible for conducting military ceremonies at the White House, the Pentagon, national memorials and elsewhere in the nation’s capital. In addition, soldiers of The Old Guard maintain a 24-hour vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns, provide military funeral escorts at Arlington National Cemetery and participate in parades at Fort Myer and Fort Lesley J. McNair.
Military Intelligence Service-X (MIS-X)
The WWII secret organization for which Capt. Carey worked was known only as Post Office Box 1142. It worked independently but also cooperated with MI-9 (Military Intelligence 9) in London on intelligence projects. Both were able to discreetly send items such as Monopoly game boards that concealed maps, shaving brush and razor handles that held maps, and buttons that held tiny compasses to POW camps in order to help the POWs escape.
Lt. William (Bill) Carey, a trained MIS-X Code User (official name), corresponded with a “girlfriend” named Lorraine. After the war, at his debrief in Washington, DC, he met Lorraine, who was a short, bald-headed, man, and Carey’s MIS-X covert contact. On the day of Capt. Carey’s 18 Dec. 2008 burial at Arlington National Cemetery, the flag on the tall flag pole at the Fort Hunt monument honoring MIS-X members, where Carol is standing in the photo below, was lowered in his honor.
After the war, all MIS-X structures located at Fort Hunt were completely destroyed and all MIS-X records burned, leaving no trace of the top secret war-time operations that had gone on there.
Carol and I visited Ft. Hunt when I recently went to Virginia.
Carol Godwin in front of the memorial at Ft. Hunt
Plaque explaining MIS-X
Capt. William Pershing Carey
Ebay Picture
This sketch found on Ebay shows how close planes flew over SLIII.
Coincidentally, this sketch looks very much like Hut 135 in South Compound according to Marek. See picture below from last month’s newsletter:
Below:
Marek: “I’m sure that the drawing showing planes over the camp was inspired by this event (See attached clip from ‘The Gazette,’ Center Compound’s newsletter, 1944).”
SLIII/Buchenwald POW Flies on Canadian Glider – POW James Stewart – Canada
“This event took place at the old air force base at Chatham, New Brunswick, four hours driving each way from St. Andrews. Had to make two trips: original on 21 Oct. was cancelled due to unforeseen change in wind patterns.
Was at a recent local dedication ceremony of our Air Force Association, discussing my flying career with one of the lads, and I jokingly mentioned the fact that I had always been intrigued about flying without use of a 2500 horse power Napier Sabre engine. Next thing, they had made appointment for me with Air Force cadets who use gliding as part of their syllabus.
This glider, as you can see, is just a basic trainer, far removed from those used in World War II. It took a shoe horn and a great deal of pulling and shoving to get these old bones and muscles settled in and out, but the trip was really awesome, worth all the hassle.”
Folded Wings
William J. Connor – Center Compound – POW son, Mike Woodworth – US
http://www.lastingmemories.com/memorial/william-joseph-connor?obituaries
Condolences to sons Brian and Brent, and daughter Claire.
William was in the 95th BG, initially 334th BS, then 335th. He was co-pilot of 44-6085, with pilot Albert Powell, navigator Don Overdorff and bombardier Phil Whalen. They were shot down 25 August 1944 apparently on a mission to Rechlin or Politz Germany, hit by flak over target, and crashed in Schwabach Germany. The MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) is 8279. All officers, the engineer, radio operator, and a waist gunner were POWs, the rest were KIA.
P-38
POW grandson, Phil Johnson, was looking for a good picture of a P-38, since his grandfather flew one during the war. I asked German author, Wolfgang Samuel, who sells his books each weekend at Udvar-Hazy – the Air and Space Museum located at Dulles Airport, and he gladly took the picture of the aircraft. Thanks Wolf! Turns out that this is the actual plane the Phil’s grandfather flew to the museum for display.
Phil: “This is the only WWII P-38 that is in the condition it was in during the war. No re-paint, no modification, my grandfather’s throat mic, logbook, and pencil were still sitting on the seat when they opened it up in 2003. The plane was flown by Dick Bong, America’s top ace of all time while doing some testing. It was taken to a storage facility where it sat for 50 years before being put in the Udvar Hazy Center.”
Need MACR Codes?
For those ordering and receiving Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRS), if you see a lot of codes letters next to names, refer to the chart below to interpret.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
| ALW | Alive and well |
| ASN | Army Serial Number |
| DED | Declared Dead; missing and presumed dead pursuant to Section 5 of the “Missing Persons Act,” Public Law 490, 77th Congress, 7 March 1942, as amended. |
| DL | Dead List |
| DOW | Died Of Wounds |
| DOWRIA | Died Of Wounds Received In Action |
| DNB | Died, Non-Battle; due to sickness or non-combat injury. |
| EUS | Evacuated to the United States |
| EVD | Evaded (or escaped) |
| FOD | Finding Of Death; equivalent to DED, above |
| INT | Interned in neutral country |
| IO | Initial Only, referring to a name |
| KIA | Killed In Action |
| KILD | Killed In Line of Duty |
| LWA | Lightly Wounded In Action |
| MIA | Missing In Action |
| NMI | No Middle Initial, referring to a name |
| NOK | Next Of Kin |
| POW | Prisoner Of War |
| RMC | Returned to Military Control |
| RTD | Returned To Duty |
| SWA | Seriously Wounded in Action |
| WIA | Wounded In Action |
MACR_Abbreviatons.php Rev. 1.0, 3 November 2010
People Interested in Re-enacting the POWs March from Zagan to Spremberg
I receive many emails from people who have asked me if there will be another re-enactment march like the one I and 14 other kriegie kids made in 2009 to pay tribute to our POW relatives, marching 52 miles from the SLIII camp to Spremberg where the men got on the box cars in Jan. 1945. If anyone is inclined to do that, let me know, and I will put you in contact with each other.
Polish Blechhammer Tour Schedule for 2018 – Szymon Serwatka – Poland
Many of our readers took the tour last year and endorsed it highly. Here is the schedule for the tour for next year. Anyone wishing to go, can contact Szymon directly—address at the end.
Trip Schedule
Day 0 – arrivals to Kraków
Day 1 – Kraków Castle and Old Town
Day 2 – Wadowice, Jeleśnia – B-24 memorials
Day 3 – Auschwitz death camp
Day 4 – Blechhammer USAAF WWII target
Day 5 – Żagań Stalag Luft III POW camp
Day 6 – Wrocław Old Town, Walim tunnels
Day 7 – Jewish Kraków, Wieliczka Salt Mine
Day 7 +1 – departures from Kraków
Your Guide
I am Szymon Serwatka. I will be your personal guide and your driver.
I have been researching USAAF missions to Poland for the last 20 years. My friends and I identified almost
200 crash sites or landing locations
of American aircraft in Poland.
I wrote 2 books and many articles
for different aviation magazines.
I have been helping to find American MIAs in Poland, too.
Day 1
We will start in Kraków, and we will see the Royal Castle and the Cathedral on the Wawel Hill.
We will take a tour of Krakow Old Town in an electric cart.
We will visit the market square with a historical trade hall, St. Mary’s Church, and an underground exhibition about medieval Kraków.
Day 2
This day is related to the USAAF bombing of IG Farben in Auschwitz on September 13th, 1944.
We will visit memorials to two B-24 crews who were shot down on this date. One was from the 485th (we will see the crash site) and the other from the 460th Bomb Group.
We will also see a Polish-American museum in Wadowice.
Day 3
We will visit Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp where 1 million Jews were murdered, together with 70,000 non-Jewish Poles, and 30,000 people from other nationalities.
We will also see where the IG Farben Auschwitz chemical factory was, which was bombed 3 times by the USAAF in 1944.
Day 4
On this day we will leave Krakow and go to Kędzierzyn-Koźle, known in World War Two as Blechhammer.
The town’s synthetic fuel factories were at the extreme range of the USAAF bombers, and were heavily defended by anti-aircraft guns.
We will see the factories, a former slave labor camp, and the museum dedicated to the 15th Air Force.
Day 5
After staying overnight in Wrocław, we will continue west to Żagań.
We will visit a museum dedicated to POW camps. It is located where the Stalag Luft III was. This camp was known from The Great Escape.
We will see a reconstructed POW hut, foundations of the camp’s buildings, and where the main Great Escape tunnel (Harry) was.
Day 6
We will visit Wrocław’s magnificent Main Square, with a place that has been serving beer since 1275.
We will see “Panorama Racławicka” (1894) which is a giant 360 degree painting best viewed from a centrally located viewing platform.
On the way to Kraków, we will visit mountain tunnel systems at Walim built by the Nazis in 1943 and 1944.
Day 7
We will go to an historical Salt Mine in Wieliczka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Then we will visit a museum in Schindler’s factory, made famous by Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” We will end the day in Kazimierz, Kraków’s Jewish district, where we will see a medieval Gothic style synagogue.
April 8-14, 2018 Tour
arrivals on April 7th, departures on April 15th
| Hotels (Paid at the hotels. Szymon books for you) | $600 (single room) |
$350 (double room) |
| Personal guide Transportation Entry tickets(Paid to Szymon) |
$700 | $700 |
| Total | $1300 | $1050 |
Cancellation fee: $350 under 60 days from tour start
The tour cost does not include:
Flights to/from Krakow
Airport transfers
Lunches and dinners (estimated at $30
a day per person. 7x$30 = $210)
Number of travelers: min 5, max 7
September 9-15, 2018 Tour
arrivals on September 8th, departures on September 16th
| Hotels (Paid at the hotels. Szymon books for you) | $670 (single room) |
$380 (double room) |
| Personal guide Transportation Entry tickets(Paid to Szymon) |
$700 | $700 |
| Total | $1370 | $1080 |
Cancellation fee: $350 under 60 days from tour start
The tour cost does not include:
Flights to/from Krakow
Airport transfers
Lunches and dinners (estimated at $30
a day per person. 7x$30 = $210)
Number of travelers: min 5, max 7
Contact Szymon at:
sserwatka@yahoo.com
Canadian Version of Ogilvie Book Now Available – POW son, Keith Ogilvie – Canada
An update on the availability of a Canadian edition of Keith’s book:
“I confirmed today that unfortunately it is limited according to the contract with the original publisher to Canadian sales, so it won’t even appear on the US version of Amazon. It can, however, be ordered by anyone in the US who is interested from Heritage House Distributors (http://www.hgdistribution.com/).”
Map of Stalag VII-A, Moosburg, after Liberation – Dr. Susanne Meinl – Germany
This map shows the numbered barracks. After liberation, Germans awaiting trial or denazification stayed in the camp.
100th BG Reunion Unites POW Daughter and Danish Friends – POW daughter, Linda Berkery – US
Linda united the families of her father’s crew and the family of the Danish fisherman who rescued her father and some of his crew when the plane ditched in that area.
Linda, left
“The photo with the book showing my father’s photo is Kirsten Gaulshoj – she is the daughter of the skipper, Svend Lundager Pedersen. Kirsten received the envelope with all the original documents to bring to Esbjerg, Denmark, for the museum, and I also made a book for her with copies of everything including all four airmen who were rescued and the list of the 97 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of our fathers. The book is opened to my father’s page.
This large group photo shows Jesper Skouenborg and his family, wife, and three children sitting on the bench surrounded by some of the children and grandchildren of the rescued men. Jesper is holding a plaque and his son is holding the American flag which had flown over the Capitol in Washington, D.C., both of which Linda presented to them.
Linda: “Children and grandchildren of WWII fliers and the fishermen who rescued them from the North Sea arrived from New York, South Carolina, California, Oregon, Colorado, Louisiana, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and the coasts of Denmark. We seemed pulled and guided to this reunion in memory of our fathers: Richard Carey, William Styles, Robert Lepper, Maynard Parsons, the American fliers, and Svend Lundager Pedersen and Viggo Skouenborg, the Danish fishermen. We honored thirty hours shared by our fathers on a fishing boat from July 25 to July 26 in 1943.
“All the children of the Danish families and the American families signed one of my husband’s prints from the oil painting of the rescue for the museum.”
Plaque
Kirsten with the grandson of the skipper, (her nephew) Svend Lundager, named after the skipper.
Emmet “Mutt” Cook’s B-17 – POW son, Emmet Cook – US
POW Emmet Cook was a famous artist in the camp, and his “I Wanted Wings” sketch was copied in so many Log Books—the sketch later licensed by Disney. His son recently spotted his father’s plane, Holey Joe, online in the link below which shows some Life Magazine airplane photos. In that picture, is Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI (of “The King’s Speech” movie fame) who was visiting at a USAF base in England.
http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=ForumsPro&file=viewtopic&t=14428&finish=15&start=0
Links
Sicily/Rome American Cemetery
On All Soul’s Day, November 2, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at a cemetery where more than 7,800 members of the U.S. military are buried. Many of the soldiers died in 1943 during Operation Husky, the Allies’ campaign to liberate the island of Sicily from the Axis powers Twenty-three pairs of American brothers are buried there side by side. See link below for brief video on this beautiful cemetery.
https://www.abmc.gov/multimedia/videos/sicily-rome-american-cemetery
Burial At Sea 72 Years Ago – SLIII POW Kenneth Collins – US
(l to r) Digby Denzek (Radioman), Lt. Robert Cosgrove (Pilot) and Loyce Deen (Gunner) on the flight deck of the USS Essex in front of a Grumman Avenger TBM. Loyce Edward Deen, an Aviation Machinist Mate, 2nd Class, USNR, was a gunner on a TBM Avenger. On November 5, 1944, Deen’s squadron participated in a raid on Manila where his plane was hit multiple times by anti-aircraft fire while attacking a Japanese cruiser. Deen was killed. The Avenger’s pilot, Lt.; Robert Cosgrove, managed to return to his carrier, the USS Essex. Both Deen and the plane had been shot up so badly that it was decided to leave him in the plane. It is the only time in U.S. Navy history (and probably U.S. military history) that an aviator was buried in his aircraft after being killed in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=ndCPxz_rPGI
A side note:
An Avenger Radioman and Gunner in the VT-100 group who was assigned to the USS Bunker Hill was 3rd Class Aviation Machinist Mate, actor Paul Newman.
Names of Vietnam War Casualties by City and State – SLIII POW Leonard Spivey – US
I have posted this link in a past newsletter but it bears repeating for those who have never seen it.
http://www.virtualwall.org/ iStates.htm
First click on a state. When it opens, scroll down to the city where you went to high school and look at the names. Click on the name and it will give details of the person’s death, a picture or at least their bio and medals.
Polish Language Humor – Stephen Marks, Lubin, Poland
http://culture.pl/en/article/the-9-most-unpronounceable-words-in-polish
Be sure to click on the video.
Comment from Marek: “Great comedy! Just shortly after this scene (interrogation by the SS) the man was sent to the POW camp and as soon as he landed in the stalag he joined the group of POWs who were digging the tunnel. Hilarious!”
Pilot’s Remains Found in Tree Returned for Burial after 72 Years – Evan Thomas – UK
Did You Know – POW son, Mike Eberhardt – US
Stanislawa Leszczynska —a Polish mid-wife—delivered 3000 babies in
Until next time,
Marilyn Walton
Daughter of POW Thomas F. Jeffers
Stalag Luft III 
You mention in the November newsletter about a reconstruction of the Long March.
Would it be possible for you to forward my details to anyone who may be organising such a march.
Although not a Kriegie kid, the idea of doing this interests me very much.
Thank You
Al King
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