1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

WWII Websites

Discussion in 'History Forum' started by Arbo, Jan 23, 2011.

  1. Arbo

    Arbo Active Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2010
    Messages:
    3,942
    Likes Received:
    1
  2. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
    #2 Salty, Jan 23, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 23, 2011
  3. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2004
    Messages:
    25,823
    Likes Received:
    1,167
    Faith:
    Baptist
    #3 carpro, Jan 23, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 23, 2011
  4. blackbird

    blackbird Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2002
    Messages:
    11,898
    Likes Received:
    4
    Try this one

    www.majordickwinters.com

    Winters commanded Easy Company of the 101st Airborne after Easy and other elements dropped into Normandy on D-Day

    I say "after" Easy dropped---before then Easy was commanded by Capt Herbert Soble and then Lt. Meehen---Soble was transferred from Easy and Meehen's plane was shot down over the drop zone on D-Day
     
  5. Thousand Hills

    Thousand Hills Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    Messages:
    1,488
    Likes Received:
    6
  6. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
  7. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2004
    Messages:
    25,823
    Likes Received:
    1,167
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Fooling around on the internet one night , I found this:

    http://www.archive.org/stream/PrisonersOfWarBulletinVol.33March1945/POW9_djvu.txt

    Stalag II B
    Ben Morasco, an American prison-
    er of war, sent, through Geneva, the
    following report on sports at Sta-
    lag II B:

    Softball is the favorite pastime enjoyed
    by American prisoners of war at Stalag II B,
    somewhere in Germany. To date, three
    leagues, each lasting about a month, have
    been played. The first series was taken by
    the Apple Knockers and the last two by
    the Butter Cups, who finished in third
    place in the first league. Some real ball was
    played through each series, with many pro-
    fessional ball players found to be in our
    midst. Some of the outstanding players are:
    Frank Lavascio, Allen Dernback, and George
    Cottone from New York; Roy Fagan and
    Wallace Graves from Texas; W. R. Plouf
    from way up in Washington; "Pop" Drake
    from Oklahoma; Bill Orlaski from Mich-
    igan; George York from Bean Town, Bos-
    ton; Mahlon Black from Pennsylvania; and
    Ruben Camacho from Sunny California.
    Practically every state in the union was
    represented by at least one player on one
    of the many teams. Another item of im-
    portance is the age-old feud between the
    North and South. Three ball games have
    been played between the two factions, and
    the Rebels have beat the Yanks in two of
    them. Plans are under way at present for
    a fourth game.
    Volleyball is enjoyed by a few. In a tour-
    nament to determine the champs of the
    Stalag, an American team composed of
    Steve Schweitz, Roy Fagan, Wally Graves,
    Allen Dernback, Ruben Camacho, and Jett
    Black took top honors. They defeated the
    French and Belgians with ease. A hand-
    carved plaque, made by a French prisoner,
    was presented to the winners.
    ________________________________________________

    The name in bold is my father. I know almost nothing about his time as a POW. He just wouldn't talk about it and he was killed in a car wreck while I was in the Corps. I never had a chance to raise the subject while grown with military experience of my own.

    I was pleased and surprised to find this little blurb.

    It is an overall interesting website. You can read the actual paper.
     
  8. Crabtownboy

    Crabtownboy Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2008
    Messages:
    18,441
    Likes Received:
    259
    Faith:
    Baptist
  9. NiteShift

    NiteShift New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    2,034
    Likes Received:
    0
    And here was how German POW's fared at Camp Atterbury:

    "When I arrived at camp Atterbury in the middle of September 1944 (I was wounded and taken prisoner on August 20th in Normandy) life in the POW camp was heaven. We received a new U.S. Army outfit, got as much to eat as we could eat and slept in a bed with a mattress.

    "There were no German officers and no non-commissioned officers in Camp Atterbury, except for a short period of time when a few hundred officers passed through, which was probably late in 1945. The first few months I was working in one of the 12 kitchens within the POW camp, but I found this rather tiresome and volunteered for work outside the camp.

    "There is hardly a menial job I didn't do during the next year; picking tomatoes and apples, working in a slaughterhouse, driving a tractor, pressing shirts and trousers, washing dishes and so on. Some of this work was done as far south a the Kentucky border and some as far north as Indianapolis..."
     
  10. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2004
    Messages:
    25,823
    Likes Received:
    1,167
    Faith:
    Baptist
    The POWs at Stalag IIB were used primarily as agricultural slaves all over the area. The treatment varied widely depending on the character of the German commander they worked for, but the hours were long and conditions were universally bad. The food was worse, as well as skimpy. The German routinely confiscated Red Cross supplies.

    Quite a contrast.
     
  11. NiteShift

    NiteShift New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    2,034
    Likes Received:
    0
    Sure was. My father saw German POW's working at the Charlestown Powder Plant many days. He said they would sing like larks and happy to be alive.
     
  12. blackbird

    blackbird Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2002
    Messages:
    11,898
    Likes Received:
    4
    German prisoners were rounded up and corralled in a location on Normandy's coast-------------few things they needed to know

    1. Were they headed to England or to the United States?? Made all the difference in whether they would enjoy a lengthly holiday or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. Did the ship they were to sail on come equipped with air conditioning and with ice cream makers???:flower::type:

    One German unit had a white sheet tied to the end of a flag pole----ready to surrender to approaching Allied forces-----the commander notices a column of tanks approaching his position---the tank commander approaches the German unit-----the German unit notices it was a British unit that had advanced on them demanding their surrender----the German commander attempts to "wave" them(the British unit) on telling them that he would give his word that he would surrender to the next approaching AMERICAN unit coming his way----the British commander tells the German commander---if you do not surrender to us---we will notify the first approaching RUSSIAN unit we come across of your exact position!!!!!!!!!!! The German commander reluctantly surrenders pleading then with the British commander that they be turned over to the first American unit they come across while they were headed to the Allied rear!!!!
     
    #12 blackbird, Feb 12, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 12, 2011
  13. Arbo

    Arbo Active Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2010
    Messages:
    3,942
    Likes Received:
    1
    I was chatting with my next door neighbor a while back. His wife's family was from Germany. He told me that his in-laws said when the Russians came through they'd steal the faucets from the houses. They thought if they took the faucets with them they'd have an unlimited supply of water that they could easily carry. Apparently they had never seen indoor plumbing.
     
  14. NiteShift

    NiteShift New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    2,034
    Likes Received:
    0
    Unfortunately it didn't always work out so well. A US soldier (of a German Jewish family who had immigrated before the war) wrote about shooting a German in the stomach who had approached his position at night. As he lay dying he asked the American, "Why? I was surrenduring". The American replied, "Ich wissen nicht" (I didn't know).
     
    #14 NiteShift, Feb 13, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2011
  15. Arbo

    Arbo Active Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2010
    Messages:
    3,942
    Likes Received:
    1
    My Grandfather was in the Pacific during the War.

    He said they were never able to capture a Japanese prisoner because they'd commit suicide rather than be taken.
     
Loading...