The Heroes of Hosingen: Their Untold Story by Alice Flynn

Author:Alice Flynn [Flynn, Alice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2016-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

21 December 1944

Unloaded and walking again. As we walked through the town, kids yelled and threw rocks and snow at us. Many of the adults just stood by the side of the road. They looked very tired and sad. We walked along some more, the column moving much slower than the first few days. At last we arrived at Bad Orb, Stalag IXB. We were put in barracks, issued half of a blanket and a can or a pan to eat out of. No silverware, you had to make do. We would remain here until the first part of January.

These incidents happened during my internment. I am not sure as to which camp they happened in. These things happened, as I said before, fifty years ago. At the time some of the incidents did not seem so important. Many of us never thought we would live through it. I think for that reason some of the things were forgotten. The incidents I recall here seem unforgettable.

•A visit by the Red Cross – They never spoke to any of us. They looked at us as if we were pigs in a sty.

•During evening service someone stole the Chaplains bread ration. I never heard if the thief was ever caught or not.

•A black GI tried escaping but failed. He made no secret of what he intended to do. That night there was a single shot. In the morning they lined us up to view the body.

•The shoes were usually taken from Russian troops leaving them bare footed. In the winter this was especially harsh, as they were forced to walk in the snow.

•Once they dropped off a load of wooden shoes at our barracks and gave instructions that we were to have our leather shoes ready to turn in, in the morning. We kept the stove hot all night and burned them. The Germans came the next day but did not know which barracks had gotten the wooden shoes.

•I slipped a hoop off a rain barrel that was near the rear door. By bending it back and forth, it was broken into two pieces. Having done this in a way that the riveted part was in the center of one part. Rubbing it on the back step, it soon separated. I now had two pieces of strap iron, each with two holes in one end. By bending and rubbing on the step a rough knife was finally formed. The other part was given to another man, who used it to make a knife for himself.

•We were shown a movie, part of which was about the good life. I believe it was filmed in the Alps. It showed people having a good time. Tables loaded with food and drink. The other part showed a small gauge rail line. A man took his seat in a sled that was similar to a bobsled. The rear was shaped like what we now know as the back of a rocket. They fired it and it took off at a tremendous speed.

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