A Soldier's Thoughts (after seeing Buchenwald)

April 17,1945

. . . "There's so much I'd like to tell you, but it just wouldn't pass the censor, so

there's no need to try. Believe me, I've seen enough lately to make me know that

any story I've read about the cruelty of the Nazis and SS troops must be fact. I

know you are familiar with the radio program, Can You TgR This? Well, I think I

could top any of them after what I've seen here today." . . .

April 18, 1945

. . . "Thanks to good ol'American Chicle Company because they pack the food we

eat. It's the only food we've had for the last few days, but it's OK One can live on

it, but we're hoping for other rations soon.

The war is still going well. Looks as if we will have to take all of Germany, which I hope happens soon. .‑

April 19, 1945

. . . "How I'd like to celebrate this birthday with you and that little boy of mine.

Maybe it won't be long until we can be together again.

Honey, you can't imagine how terrible things can be during wartime. You know, Gen. Sherman said, 'War is Hell,' Had he seen the brutality or atrocities I've seen the last few days, he would have made that statement much stronger. Don't be mislead. No, I haven't seen an American soldier seriously injured yet‑‑what I have seen are atrocities by the Nazis on innocent humans over a period of years which are beyond belief. Surely this place and others have made the newspapers at home. Wish I could see some of the papers from April 15. Many dignitaries from around the world, including General Bradley, General Eisenhower, General Patton and Winston Churchill, have visited this place to see for themselves what these people have suffered through the years right here.

Do you still hear Robert St. John's program? Try to hear him soon as he will probably mention this place on the air. Honey, I am so glad you can't see what I'm having to look at right now from the cab of my truck. This scene would be almost inconceivable to you. Poor half‑alive people in their striped uniforms, just liberated, of course, walking the best they can to somewhere‑‑they don't know where. They know they're free. They have been starved, tortured, and persecuted in every way. How one human being could be so inhumane to his fellow man beats me.

We are moving into a building today, so we will have showers and a decent latrine in the building. That will help a lot. If you could see my hands and my clothes! You've never seen me look like I do today." . . .

April 20, 1945

. . . "Worked until dark last night. You should have seen me at work. No, actually

I'm very happy you didn't. I wouldn't want you to see the horrible sights here. You

couldn't conceive how it makes us feel to hear an adult man say that now is the first

time he's had enough to eat in 5 years or at least all he wanted, or to tell us today

was his second birthday.

You see, anyone who was not a Hitler follower was imprisoned where they became slave laborers, and most worked until they fell dead. If ever the Allies have better friends than those who fought Hitler, I don't know who they are. You have to praise and honor those Allies who stood up against Hitler's tyranny for twelve years or longer. Those people are so good and grateful for the Allies and their freedom. All they wish for now are clothes, food, and cigarettes. I can leave candy, cigarettes, etc. on the seat of my truck for fifteen minutes, return and everything is still where I left it. Though they crave all these things, they wouldn't touch them. One small boy about 12 years old refused my offer for candy because 'he'd had plenty to eat that morning.' One of the other fellows finally helped me persuade him to take the candy. You can't imagine how it makes one feel. Another young boy I talked with said he was thrown into prison for giving cigarettes and food to other prisoners. That was his only guilt and an example of just another incidence of brutality and abuse. This little boy looked up at me as if I were God and not a poor GI Joe. He wanted to stay with me and hold my hand." . .

April 26, 1945

. . . "Well, it is now OK if I tell you where I am. We are now in Cham, Germany, not

far from the Czechoslovakian border. We are also now assigned to Gen. Patton's

3rd Army. I'm sure you've guessed from previous letters that we have visited a

concentration camp called Buchenwald. Anything or everything you've read about it is true. It is a HELLHOLE. We have seen stacks of bodies waiting to be disposed of. We have seen remains of bodies in the crematories (furnaces) only partially cremated due to the speed the Allies are flying through Germany right now". . .

April 28, 1945

. . . "Honey, there is so much to say about Buchenwald Concentration Camp, most of it will have to wait. There were prisoners from every nation in Europe. The camp had a record of 51,000 deaths there. As many as 1,600 people slept in a building not as large as your dad's warehouse. Can you imagine that? There were bunk‑like barracks with boards 8 feet wide (at most) and usual length, where 6 people (maybe more at times) slept with one blanket for all and nothing underneath them but hard boards." .–

May 22, 1945

. . . "Finally I can write something really personal because there is no more

censorship from this theater. Oh boy, that is good! I love you. I love you." . . .

May 23,1945

. . . " This will be my first full letter to write that won't have to be censored. I can tell you what I have done each day since I left the States and other things you would like to know such as where I am now. And yes, it's good to be able to seal your own letter. You know how many times I have said how good it was to see Elizabeth? I just happened to think, I can finally write the name Queen Elizabeth. It is one big ship, the biggest transport afloat and the fastest. Honey, we left New York at 6:00 AM on the 16th and from noon that day until Thursday morning, all we saw was water. Didn't see another ship on the whole trip until we picked up our escorts. On Thursday morning we docked in the Clydes near Glasgow on the 21 st, got off late Friday the 22nd and on to Tenby by rail. Arrived there Saturday, 4:00 PM on the 23rd. Of course, you know the story while we were there. From Tenby to Southampton on the 4th, loaded on the Victory ship, George S. Dewey, the 5th and laid around in the harbor one day, then on to Le Havre on the 7th and finally off the boat. On the 8th, we went from there to a staging area near Rouen. We left there the 1 1th and went to Rambervillers and arrived the 12th where we stayed until the 24th and then moved to Dettwiler close to Sarrebourg and Haguenau. On

the 28th we moved to Golheim which is 25 miles NE of Kaiserslauten. On April 4, we moved to Frankfurt; then on the 14th we moved to Buchenwald, stayed there until the 24th (the reason we moved is the First Army took over Buchenwald). All 3rd Army troops moved out, then moved to bivouac area midway between Bamberg and Nuremberg. On the 29th we moved to Cham." . .

May 25, 1945

. . . "in one of your letters you asked what I was seeing while sitting in the cab of my truck, or what I was hauling. I was hauling desperately sick and dying prisoners, or what remained of once strong and healthy men, to the hospital. Also, we were hauling truckloads of dead bodies to the freshly dug trenches for mass graves. The sight of those near death was almost beyond belief‑‑thighs the size of my arm, buttocks no longer visible, pelvic bones seen at any angle, as were other human bones. You see, when the prisoner became too ill to work, they were sent to this barracks‑like building with wood bunks, to die. The Nazis really did not care if they died or not, and the sooner the better because that was one way of getting rid of them. There were no latrines other than a trough‑like affair which they used for a latrine. The latrines were never flushed with water until the SS took the notion. You can imagine the odor of the sick and dying and the filth that covered those buildings. In one corner was a pile of filth like I've never seen, and there lay a man who had fallen but was unable to get back to his bunk.

On one trip to pick up patients, they brought out a fellow about 20 years old, and the doctor, a prisoner there for 10 years, said 'Leave him. He will die in an hour or so.' Of course, the doctor had seen so much that he was used to it, and he said 'let's take only the ones we can help.' One of our officers said 'No, he goes and will be treated as long as there is life in him.' These barracks held prisoners with every kind of disease imaginable. None of the prisoners had shoes, and were barely clothed, regardless of the season. Those prisoners were treated by our hospital, and many lives were saved. If there was any sign of life left in one, they were treated and received the finest of care. Our unit worked so hard on this special assignment to save as many victims as possible, and we are very, very proud of the care they received.

You asked when we moved into the camp. It was liberated on a Friday, and we moved in on Saturday. It was quite a sight going from Weimar to the camp. The road on the way was lined with dead Germans, military equipment, prisoners from the camp and dead animals. No, I didn't like that sight at all, but nothing was removed for a week or more.

There were just such unimaginable sights and smells, and one month later, I'm still smelling Buchenwald, and it makes me shudder.". . .

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