The "Softie" also presented all kinds of 'RED CROSS' forms to be filled out, which he said were only so our family could be properly informed of our well being and to provide that I might be sent to an internment facility where I could be with friends. Of course, the forms included all kinds of requested information which had nothing to do with family identification. I rigidly maintained the: "name, rank, serial number" status. They would then threaten that without the information they would be forced to treat me as a civilian spy! (We fortunately had been well briefed in training as to this type of interrogation and what we might expect if captured and how to respond)

The interogators also presented me with all kinds of information about myself and our mission. The Luftwaffe Intelligence had apparently maintained files on all American officers throughout their training and career with items from newspapers and other sources. They confronted me with where I went to school and military flight schools attended, etc. They even told me the flight hardstand where the plane I was shot down in had been parked. Their approach was that they already had all the information they needed and that any further information I would give was only needed to complete the file.

After several interogations they gave up and released me to be transported to a POW camp. My Dulag Luft time was shortened by the apparent conclusion that they were not going to obtain valuable information and also by the fact that there was a big influx of additional prisoners arriving because of heavy losses in a couple of heavy bombardment raids in which the allies had suffered high loss crew numbers.

I was curtly advised that I was to be transferred to the major flying officer internment camp at Sagan in eastern Germany known as Stalag Luft III which literally meant 'camp air three'. I was excorted to a line of other prisoners being checked out and released from the interogation facility to an adjacent transient camp. As we left the interogation establishment, a Luftwaffe Major verified our identification with a photo and then smartly saluted and motioned for us to proceed out the gate. I was later told that he would restrain from saluting and turn his back to those who had broken down under interogation. To those he saluted, he was verifying recognition of an officer who was worthy of respect.

As I was escorted across to the transient camp, a yell arose from a group of prisoners inside the camp that I was being taken to and who were observing the check out procedure. There standing was my good friend, Jack Porter, whose bunk I had moved into before being shot down and whose belongings I had helped pack. He now had a heavy beard and looked rather haggard but was physically ok. It was a great relief to be with a good friend, regardless of the circumstances.

The next day we were marched back to the railway station and crowded into European (40 & 8) box cars with about 30 to each car. (They were called 40 & 8 during World War I with reference to a capacity of 40 troops or 8 horses!). Our shoes were first taken from us and then returned. We were told that they had been returned in response to an agreement by a Senior American officer that no one would attempt to escape during the train trip. Escape would have been nearly impossible since we were locked inside the cars. This proved to be a real problem in that you couldn't lie down and if you had been able the floor became wet with urine and excretion after a short time.

While enroute we went to the Berlin railroad marshalling yards and endured a frightening night of heavy bombardment by British bombers. Unfortunately, the target was apparently the very marshalling yard we were in and our box cars rocked and jumped with closeby bomb detonations. The next day, the American B17's were dropping their bombs on the yards and other nearby targets.

The second evening we were moved in a southeasterly direction into Lower Silesia and eventually to Sagan 100 miles from Berlin. At Sagan we were ushered into a new prison compound known as the West Compound and I was assigned to a former barracks building now termed Block 157 which was initially to hold 100 prisoners in 13 cell rooms and later increased to hold over 130 men. The compound eventually held about 2500 prisoners while Stalag Luft III in total in all compounds held over 10,000 airmen at the time of evacuation in January 1945 in response to rapidly advancing Russian armies.

For a rather complete background description of Stalag Luft III, go to U.S. Air Force Association webpage by clicking on the following link: STALAG LUFT III

TO BE CONTINUED