Maurice had a strong love for airplanes, and joined the Air Force when World War II broke out. He became a Navigator and was stationed in England, after having flown over there from the USA in a B-17. The story of his experiences during the war is in his own words. Part 1 is entitled "My 2nd Schweinfurt" and Part 2 is "Life as a POW". An Air Force Museum at Pooler, GA [just NW of Savannah on I-95] displays a suitcase and a tin cup he made while a POW.
|
My 2nd Schweinfurt October 14, 1943 Got into the serving line for breakfast. This was still a short line because I managed to be ahead of schedule. Received a couple of eggs cooked to order. These were fresh eggs and the cook had asked me how I wanted them. He repeated - "Sunny side up? - yes Sir!" In the month and a half I had been in England I had never seen a fresh egg. Eggs were always powdered. There were fried potatoes, ham, bacon and toast as well as the usual coffee. Something was up. Somebody knew something. After finishing breakfast, we - the Mullinax crew - went to the briefing room. There we joined the rest of the crews of the squadrons of the 94th Bomb Group. There was the usual banter. Would this be a milk run? A raid on the submarine pens? There was a heavy fog outside. Some thought the mission, if any, would be scrapped because of the fog. The large wall map of England and continental Europe was covered with a large cloth. Underneath that cloth, the target was marked. A colored ribbon indicated the route the bomber force would follow to that target. After we were all assembled, the doors were closed and guards posted outside. Then Col. Castle, the Group Commander had the cloth covering the wall map removed. There were a few moments of stunned silence. Then there was an eruption of curses and what not. The Group had gone to Schweinfurt just a couple of months previously, and there were several planes with crews lost then. It was no milk run. The Colonel silenced the assembly and proceeded with the briefing. The Weather officer gave the weather report. Intelligence reported on what we could expect in the way of resistance. That we could expect heavy anti-aircraft fire. That there would be many enemy fighters up. Ordnance described the description, in our aircraft, of different types of bombs - 500 lb. high explosive, incendiary, etc. [They said] that an attempt had been made to balance the bombs carried, the fuel load because of the long trip, and the defensive armament in the form of shells for the .50 caliber machine guns. They advised conservation of ammunition. To use short bursts and to fire only when there was a target at a reasonable range. We were again reminded not to carry our ID's, money or anything that could be used by German intelligence. After the briefers had given their reports, Wing Commander Col. Wilson mounted the platform and gave a pep talk. Unlike any I had heard before, he told us frankly that many of us would not make it back. That it was necessary to destroy this target. That ball bearings were an important part of the equipment Germany used. {The target was a plant at Schweinfurt that manufactured ball bearings} That it might be necessary to go back again and again to do the job if we failed. This was bad news for the men that had only one or two missions to complete their tour. A tour was completion of twenty-five missions. The odds of completing a tour were one out of a hundred. Of the ten man crew in a B-17 that got into trouble, six would live and four would die. The six would most likely become prisoners-of-war. These were no milk runs. They {our missions} were; Wilhelmshaven, Emden, Bremen, Marienberg [a little beyond Danzig], Munster and Frankfurt. Part of the briefing was about evasion and escape, in case we were forced down. We were given names and telephone numbers of people to contact if we were able to get to Switzerland. These names and numbers were to be memorized and not written down. We were briefed on what we should do if we should wind up in France. Also what our chances were of getting help inside Germany. There wasn't much of a chance. We were reminded to pick up our escape kits after the briefing. These contained a small compass and maps of the area we were to fly over. There were tablets to use to purify water, energy pills to serve us for 2 or 3 days and money of the countries we were liable to be in. After we were dismissed from the briefing, we proceeded to assemble our personal equipment and meet at the aircraft assigned to us. We, the Mullinax crew, were again assigned no. 149, a B-17F nicknamed "Spare Parts". On paper, for the record, we were assigned no. 537, a B-17G. No. 537 was a new aircraft undergoing modifications necessary for combat duty. As a crew, I do not recall flying it. I went first to my quarters and put on my shoulder holster with my Colt 45 automatic pistol. This is the first mission that I wore it. I pocketed extra packs of cigarettes. I then went to security and deposited my bill fold, ID and personal papers with them. Later when it was determined that I was a Prisoner-of-War in Germany, these items were delivered to my parents. The day before we left Grand Island Air Base {in the USA} for Scotland, I got into a poker game in the early afternoon at the Officers Club. Played all that afternoon and all that night. About 7:00 the following morning the Copilot, Lt. Peyton, came in and informed me that we were leaving that morning for Bangor, Maine on our way to England. We were to load everything we had into our shiny new B-17G. I collected my winnings, about $500, and got busy. When we arrived in England, I had that $500 plus money for a couple of pay periods I had missed-close to a thousand dollars. Lt. Mullinax knew this and advised me to send it home. Two days before the 2nd Schweinfurt mission I sent about $750 to my Mother. She opened an account for me at the bank and deposited it. The money in my bill fold that I had turned in to Security did arrive home with the rest of my effects. That done, I went to the room where we kept our flying equipment. These were: an electric heated suit; a sheep skin flying suit consisting of a jacket, trousers, boots and a cap with ear flaps; a parachute; an oxygen mask; a flak suit and a steel helmet. Normally I wore the electric heated suit as a form of thermal underwear but did not plug it into the electric circuit. This because I heard stories about electric shorts and burns. This time I did not don the electric suit but wore my dress uniform instead. Pinks and green shirt. Over this I wore my gabardine flying suit and over that, the sheepskin flying suit. I wore the sheepskin flying boots over Oxford shoes, and leather flying gloves over wool knit gauntlet type gloves. All these were army issue. At the operating altitude it would be cold, perhaps thirty to sixty degrees below zero. The heating system in the aircraft was not dependable, and there was the possibility it could be rendered inoperative during combat. The navigators and bombardiers stations were in the nose of the B-17. There were three single barrel .50 caliber machine guns for use by the navigator or the bombardier. Each gunner was responsible for the care of the guns he used. In a fight, the navigator and the bombardier were gunners. Therefore they took care of their guns. They were removed from the mounts and cleaned and oiled {regularly} whether used or not, and stored in the armament room after each mission. This was necessary because in battle those guns had to work. In the severe cold, too much oil and grime tended to gum up the works. Even the wrong oil could be disastrous. Lt. Coberly and I drew our three gun barrels from armament. We boarded the first available passenger truck and were transported to our aircraft hardstand. Here we found the rest of our ten man crew. They were busy with their duties in preparation for the flight. There were: Sgt. Wilson, ball turret gunner; Sgt. McCormick, crew chief-aircraft engineer-top turret gunner; Sgt. Anderson, radio operator-gunner; there were also the right and left waist gunners, and the tail gunner. The bombardier, Lt. Coberly and I installed our .50 caliber gun barrels in their mounts, as had the other gunners, and prepared them for firing. Test firing would be done later in the air, away from anybody. Lt. Mullinax, the pilot, and Lt. Peyton, the copilot did their thing in preparing the aircraft for the mission. Before long, we were ready. We waited and waited. The fog and clouds persisted at Bury-St. Edmunds. Reconnaissance aircraft had been sent to several locations in continental Europe so as not to alert the Germans to the real target. Word came that the mission was on. It was to be as briefed. When the proper signal flare was sighted, each of the 21 aircraft in the 94th Bomb Group started their four engines. Aircraft taxied to their assigned positions in the take-off sequence. This was so that the combat formation could be readily assembled in the air. As we started our roll down the runway I chanced to look to the right of our aircraft, to the edge of the runway. I saw people lined up along the edge. Hundreds of them. Every person on that base must have been there to send us off and it is assumed to wish us good luck. Because of the heavy fog swirling around them, they appeared ghost-like. I also observed the wing tip of our aircraft. It appeared to be flapping like a bird wing. On this particular morning, the cloud cover extended to a rather great height. The bombers were flown to the top of the clouds by the pilots, flying by instruments only. A dangerous situation with several aircraft flying blind in those clouds. I know of no collisions in those clouds on this particular day. The Group Squadrons, consisting of seven aircraft {each} formed up on their leader. {Maurice's plane was in the 332nd Squadron} Then the three Squadrons formed up on the Group leader, to form the {94th} Group. The Groups formed up as a combat Wing. The Wings formed up to make a Division. When formed and ready, the First and Third Divisions-consisting of B-17's, flew their planned routes to the target for the day. The Second Division-consisting of {29} B-24's, went on to another target in order to mislead the enemy on the real target. {Because of weather, eight B-24's returned to bases, and 21 made a diversionary sweep to Frisian Islands in the North Sea} As we circled over England in making up the formations, which took hours, we sometimes listened to music, news etc. on the radio. On this particular morning Lord Haw Haw the German propaganda radio personality was on. He said that they knew we were forming up for a raid. That they would blast us before we got to drop our bombs. He would give us bits and pieces of information in an attempt to impress us with the ability of their intelligence service. When the formation was complete, or as complete as it would be, the bomber stream took off on the planned course to target. We were to have, and had, fighter escort as far as they could go. This was only a short distance into continental Europe because of their limited fuel supply. At the limit of their range, our escort left us on our own and went back to their fields. Shortly the German fighters appeared and proceeded with their attack. The course of the bomber stream could be followed by the rising plumes of black smoke from the burning aircraft on the ground, both enemy and friendly. And by the parachutes floating to earth. At that time the parachutes were of white silk and could be readily spotted. To me they looked like giant mushrooms. These could be seen as far as the eye could see. At 29,000 feet the eye can see pretty far. We eventually arrived at the PI and made the turn for the run to the target.{ The IP was the 'initial point', where the bombers would make their final turn, roll level, open their bomb bay doors and begin the bomb run heading straight for the target}. As we neared the target, we had to contend with anti-aircraft fire also. The bursts could be seen all over the sky. I remember a remark being made at one time - "Not to worry about the ones one could see, the ones you didn't see were the ones to worry about". Usually the bursts looked like a huge ball of black smoke. I recall seeing several balls that had a reddish hue. I thought the reddish bursts were from large caliber [155mm] guns. We made the bomb run as a group formation. The bombardier in the lead bomber dropped his bombs by means of his bomb sight. The other bombardiers in the group released their bombs as soon as the bombs falling from the lead bomber. Almost immediately after bombs-away, the group made a turn and a decrease in altitude in order to confuse the flak gunners. Enemy fighter action increased heavily after bombs-away. This was the heaviest fighting we experienced on this mission. There were FW 190's, ME 109's and twin engine fighter-bombers. The twin engine fighters carried air-to air missiles. They attacked the rear of our formation by sending their missiles at us. I saw one of these missiles sail over the top of the left wing of "Spare Parts". It flew out in front of us where it exploded. Spare Parts flew right through that ball. A piece of shrapnel, about the size of a walnut, went through the Plexiglas nose. I was reading the magnetic compass located on the floor of the aircraft nose when I felt something strike my steel helmet. This piece had come in through the nose glass, had gone over the top of the Bombardiers left shoulder, striking my helmet. It glanced off the helmet, glanced off the wall of the aircraft, struck my helmet again and fell on top if the glass of the compass I was trying to read. I noted that the Bombardier had turned and was giving me a quizzical look; I felt he was wondering if I had been struck by that shrapnel. I picked up the piece to show it to him. I had to drop it because it was still hot enough to cause pain through the gloves I was wearing. Shortly after that there was an explosion at the left side of the cockpit area. There were other explosions in different parts of the aircraft. Word came over the intercom system that the outboard engine was on fire. That part of the oxygen system in the waist and rear was out. Learned that Lt. Mullinax had been wounded by a twenty millimeter that had exploded on the left side of the aircraft, {but} that he was still able to, and was, flying the aircraft. Lt. Coberly asked the pilot if he needed help. Mullinax said yes. Lt. Coberly started for the cockpit. I noticed that he disconnected from the oxygen system and did not connect to a portable bottle, on his way to the cockpit. About this time Lt. Mullinax gave an order to bailout. I proceeded to destroy sensitive equipment. This was done by removing a cover and pushing a red button underneath it. I had hooked my chest pack parachute to the harness I always wore, and started for the passage way between the nose and the cockpit. The escape hatch was located in this tunnel. This was the only escape route for me. I saw two bodies in the tunnel. It appeared that both were unconscious. I recognized Lt. Coberly and knew immediately what was wrong. He passed out from lack of oxygen. I assumed that the other was Lt. Peyton, {and} that the two of them had become wedged in the tunnel on the way to the escape hatch. My only means of escape {was blocked}. I grabbed Lt. Coberly's oxygen mask hose and plugged it into the oxygen system. I then, perhaps frantically, hunted for an alternate escape route. The astrodome would not do. Too small. I may have tried to kick out the Plexiglas nose panels. Forty five years later, Lt. Coberly told me {his story of this situation}: In short order I realized that the two bodies were gone. I went into the tunnel. {On reaching the hatch},I made the mistake of looking out the hatch instead of dropping out, as instructed in training. I saw the bomb-bay doors; they were still open. I saw two gun barrels of the ball turret, and the ball turret. All seemed to be in the way, ready to impale me as I slipped back into the slip-stream. I let myself out feet first and held on to the hatch frame. I lined up my body in the slip-steam so that I would miss all the things back there that I was likely to hit. I let go. I saw these things, and sensed them as I went by. I did not hit any of them. I was aware that while free falling from an altitude of thirty thousand feet, one could count to 100 to 120 before reaching the ground. I began counting soon after I started my fall. My intention was to get as close to the ground as possible, so that I would not be hanging up there in my parachute too long. I did not wish to be a target, and I wanted a good chance to evade capture. To do this I needed to see the horizon. My body was tumbling slowly as I fell. I soon discovered that I could alter my position relative to the earth by sticking out one or both arms. I could steer with my arms. I counted to about eighty-five, and started to think again. I reasoned that I might need a little time to open the parachute with my hands - ripping off the cover- in the case that the "D" ring did not work. So, I pulled the "D" ring. It came free in my right hand along with the short piece of cable which held the pins that locked the chute cover in place. For a couple of moments nothing happened. I looked at the "D" ring. As I threw it, I said - "You SOB, you did not work!". Then the pilot chute came out, followed by the main chute. There was a terrific jolt when it opened and stopped my one hundred and twenty mile per hour free fall. When that chute opened I realized why the flying clothes had zippers on all of the pockets. When it opened, anything that was not secured by tying or in a zippered pocket kept on traveling at one hundred and twenty miles per hour, while my body abruptly slowed down to the speed of a body falling from a two story building. My sheep skin boots must have been unzipped, because they left my feet. The leather shoes remained on my feet because they were tied. They sure came in handy on my ten day, one hundred and twenty mile walk later. The Colt 45 stayed with me because it was under my flying suit and in a holster with a strap cover. The oxygen mask left. That was all right. I had no more use for it. The flying helmet with ear phones left. I had not worn my flak vest. I had spread this on the floor of the aircraft where I usually stood, to protect me from flak burst under the B-17. As I floated to earth, I looked up in the direction of the bombers on their way home. I could see them but I could not hear them. I saw the German fighters making their attacks. I could see puffs of smoke and planes going down. Having just left that scene, I knew they were in mortal combat. A flight of ME 109's went by me on their way to the fight. They were close enough that I could see their faces as they looked at me in my parachute. I had a couple of moments wondering if they might turn their guns on me. If they did I planned to dump my chute by pulling the shrouds on one side of it. They kept going on up to the bombers. I saw what I thought was Spare Parts. There was a fire in the right wing and the plane was in a shallow turn to the right. It was much lower than the bomber formation. Mullinax must have set the auto pilot. I was under the impression that the mortally wounded pilot, Mullinax, was still in the aircraft. I didn't want to leave it when I was ordered to bail out and now I wished I were still in it. After the chute opened, there was a stillness I had not heard before. The first sounds I became aware of was that of birds and chickens. I was not able to judge the distance to the ground. I had never made a parachute jump before and didn't really know what to expect. In training we were told that the parachute jump had to be done right the first time, so why practice. It was suggested that we use the horizon for orientation. I was doing this when I crashed through the branches of a tree. I had come down in a small forest. It was the fall season and there were a lot of leaves on the ground; also on the trees. I found a dip in the ground large enough to hold my parachute. I cut off a couple of the shrouds for future use, then placed the chute in the dip and covered it with some leaves. I found a tree suitable for climbing and hiding. Found a branch I could sit on which had enough leaves to hide me. I stayed there till after dark. During this time I could hear people searching. Calling to each other in the forest. I assumed they were searching for me. I did not understand German. Eventually it became dark and the voices ceased. I waited till well after dark before moving. I came down from the tree as quietly as I could. There was enough starlight and moonlight so that I could see fairly well. I waited and listened for any sign of the searchers. I neither saw nor heard anything. As a navigator, I had a general idea of where I was and the direction I was to go. I needed to go in a westerly direction to get to France and a southerly direction to Switzerland. To get to a Rhine river crossing into France, I needed to go in a southwesterly direction. In the southwesterly direction was a bridge across the Rhine river to Strasbourg in France. That became the primary destination, because it was closer - southerly to Switzerland was the alternate. Again my navigation training came in handy.. Stars gave me the direction I needed to travel. I soon came to the edge of the forest I was in. I saw a plowed field and about a half mile further I saw another forest. Where someone had quit plowing, there was a trough about 14 inches wide and 8 inches deep, {which lead} from the forest I was in, to the one {in the distance} where I wanted to go. On my stomach, I crawled into this trough and proceeded to the other side of the field. About halfway across I encountered an animal in the trough. It must have been asleep because it was not aware of me until I was only about two feet from it. It let out a screech, jumped about three feet into the air, did a one-eighty degree turn and split! I believe it was a badger. That was an experience I could have done without. Eventually I calmed down and continued on. Went into and through the forest on the other side of the field. Traveled all that night from forest to forest. As I traveled I found myself on a single lane lightly traveled road. Ahead I could see a wooden bridge across a small stream. Lt. Coberly appeared at my side. I walked in one wheel track and he walked in the other. I questioned whether it was safe to cross the bridge and if there might be a guard on it. He said it was safe and there was no guard. He said that Lt. Mullinax was dead and that the rest of the crew were allright as far as he knew. Before we arrived at the bridge, Coberly disappeared. When I arrived at the bridge I found no guard and crossed it safely. I continued on. Coberly did not reappear. Before daylight I came to a forest that I judged would be a good place to hide during the coming day. I found a depression in the ground, lined it with leaves and gathered enough leaves to cover myself. I crawled into the hole and went to sleep. This was early in the morning of 15 October, 1943. I awoke about mid-morning, and quickly realized my situation. I was a one-man invasion of Germany. I was probably the object of a search. From the edge of the forest I saw three people. I guessed they were a grandmother, her daughter and a grand daughter. There was one ox, and an old horse. The animals were hitched to a walking plow. They were harvesting potatoes. I didn't think they were aware of me. There was no one else around. I stayed in my hiding place and went back to sleep. I would wake up, check the field and go back to sleep. In the late afternoon I awoke to find the potato harvesters gone. As soon as it became dark, I proceeded traveling in a southwesterly direction. I planned to travel at night so that I would not be spotted. I felt that I would be recognized as someone not of that area because of my dress. I had on my olive drab gabardine flying coveralls, with my Army officer's uniform underneath. I traveled all that night. When it started to become light I began looking for a place to spend the day. Found a hay field with several stacks of hay, and burrowed into one of the stacks from the top down. There I made a nest to sleep in, there I spent the day. I awoke in mid-morning and peeked out of my nest. I saw people working in a cultivated portion of the field. I felt they were not aware of me, and soon went back to sleep. After dark I resumed my travel in a southwesterly direction. I traveled all that night. The terrain became increasingly rugged towards morning. I found myself going up one side of a ridge, and down the other side. At the top of a ridge I would look in the southwesterly direction that I wished to travel. There I saw ridge after ridge after ridge as far as I could see. I was not encountering any [rather not very many] signs of human habitation. Occasionally I would cross a paved road between the ridges. On the ridges I found dirt roads similar to the logging roads in the forests of western US. I now traveled all day and all night, stopping to rest and sleep when I became too tired to continue. I had not had anything to eat since breakfast on the morning of October 14. I had gone through a pear orchard, but found no edible fruit there. It had been harvested and the only fruit left was rotten and not edible. I did not find anything that I considered edible, anywhere. If we had been trained in survival, I may have been able to recognize edibles such as bark, roots, plants seeds and what not. Hunger pangs were a problem for the first four or five days. After that, they diminished and became barely noticeable. One night, sometime after midnight, while traveling on a logging road I came upon a place that contained a building alongside the dirt road. There were several snoring noises emanating from inside the building. It was probably a foresters camp. I moved off the road into the forest and by-passed the place. I had no wish to alert the people or their dogs. If they had dogs, the dogs never detected me. Another night I found a small cabin along side a logging road. No one seemed to be there so I forced my way into the cabin. I located some candles, and using one of my remaining matches, I lit one. There were bunks with bedding and blankets, a wood stove and eating utensils. I looked everywhere but found no food in the place. I crawled into one of the bunks and went to sleep. I awoke when it was beginning to get light. I found a light rain coat in the cabin. I took it with me thinking I might have use for it. About a quarter of a mile from the cabin I rounded a curve in the road. There I saw three deer. They also saw me, but did not flee, they just stood there and looked. I thought to myself - food, and pulled the Colt 45 from its holster. I placed a cartridge in the barrel and cocked the hammer. I took aim at one of the deer. Then I started to think. This gun makes a lot of noise. If I fire it, it will wake up who knows who, and give me away. I decided not to shoot, let the hammer down easy-like an walked away from the area. This was about the sixth or seventh day since I had bailed-out. I had not had anything to eat since the breakfast of fresh eggs. Again I walked all day and all night, sleeping whenever and wherever I needed rest. I was resting more frequently and the walking periods were becoming shorter and shorter. The morning after the one with the deer encounter, I heard a human yell and several other voices. There were about six men of an advanced age who had spotted me before I saw them. They were in a wagon drawn by a team of horses. I left the road I had been on and entered the forest. Two of the men dismounted the wagon and started to pursue me on foot. I had not seen any fire-arms in their possession and they did not display any. I assumed they had none and therefore were no threat to me. Soon one of the followers dropped out of the pursuit, leaving only the one. He was persistent. I was beginning to tire. I removed the Colt 45 from the shoulder holster and pointed it at him. He kept coming. I pulled back the slide and chambered a round. This is a noisy operation and can be unsettling to one at the front of the barrel. He was about a hundred yards away. He was close enough to see and hear the operation. It convinced him to discontinue the pursuit. This was a relief to me. I had no desire to harm or kill anyone. In training we were advised not to, in a situation like the one I was in. We were not trained to be "Rambos". [I don't think that word had been invented in the early 1940's. I cannot recall exactly what words were used to describe what "Rambo" does]. I let him go. The night before capture, between midnight and daylight, I reached the top of the last ridge before the Rhine valley. I could see in the distance, to the west, what I assumed was the Rhine River. I saw a train that must have been on a railroad track parallel to the river. It was a steam locomotive; I could see the black smoke issuing from the smoke stack. It was moving South. How I wished I were on it. Working my way down the river side of the ridge, I came to a place that had been leveled and a hotel-like building built there. Separate from the main building was a carriage house. This place had been here for quite a while. I went to the main building and found a door. I tried it and it was unlocked. I entered and found myself in a hallway down the center of the building with rooms on each side. There was a stairway up to the second floor and a stairway down to the basement. I took the stairway down. Here I found some canned food on a shelf. I opened one and ate part of it. It was fruit of some kind and it must have been bad because I paid for it later. There was an enclosure in the room, in which I could see wine racks with bottles on them. There was a padlocked gate to the enclosure, which was made of wood. I had a pocket knife and I started whittling. After about an hour there was a hole large enough for me to crawl through into the enclosure. I started opening the bottles. I thought I had found the wine cellar of the hotel. Of the dozen or so of the bottles that were opened, none contained wine. It was plain water. Somebody was fooling somebody. I gave up and left the building. Went to the carriage house. There was a hay loft in the upper part of the building. There was a ladder built against a wall that led to the loft. I took this ladder and found a pile of hay. It was enough to crawl into and hide, which I did, and went to sleep. In mid-morning I was awakened by loud voices in the yard between the carriage house and the main building. I found a knot-hole through which I could see three men arguing. Two seemed to be police officers and the other may have been the owner or manager. They were there because of what I had done in the wine cellar. I expected them to come and check the carriage house, but they never did. The police left. I rested the rest of the day. An hour or two after sun-down and when foot traffic ceased, I started walking down the road towards the valley. As the road neared the bottom, the sides of the road were lined with houses. I tried one of the front doors and found it unlocked. I went in, and found myself in a small hall with doors to other rooms. The first door I opened was the kitchen. I went in and turned on the light after closing the door. There was a stove upon which there was a covered frying pan. I checked the frying pan; it contained a meal for someone. I ate that meal, and it was good even if it was meager. In the hallway, I tried the next door. As I opened it, a woman in a bed sat up and called a man's name. I immediately vacated the premises. I went into a dark alley across the street and watched the front door for a minute. Sure enough, someone opened the front door, looked out and then closed and locked the door. I proceeded down the road to the valley. I found a bicycle parked in front of a house. I mounted that bike and started pedaling. When I came to the main road I turned to the left which was South. I passed through two villages as I rode. Approaching the third village, which was about ten blocks long, I noticed a group of four men standing and talking. They noticed me at about the same time as I did them. I started pedaling as hard as I could. Fortunately there was a curve in the street that blocked the view of the men after me, and prevented my getting shot by them. I felt that they were there to catch people like me. As I approached the other end of the village, I stopped about a half block from the end, parked the bicycle in an alley and walked part way to the end. As I approached the end, I spotted four men in a group by the side of the street. Unfortunately, they spotted me also. I saw they had guns. I turned and attempted to enter the front yard of a home with a picket fence around it. I could not unlatch the gate. Before I could do anything else, I was surrounded. Each man was pointing his gun at me. I understood "hans aluft" and I did. I was patted down and my Colt 45 was found. I was taken to the police station where they tried to question me. None of those present could speak English, and I could not speak German, so we did not communicate. They brought in a teenage girl. One of the first questions they asked was why I was fighting them. They had my dog tags and from them they knew my last name was Fridrich. They said I was one of them. I told them I was am American, and that they had declared war on us. That silenced them. They told me "for you the war is over". Some Luftwaffe people came and I was turned over to them. They put me in a car and took me across the Rhine River to an airfield near Strasbourg. I made a point to check for guards on the bridge. There were two at each end. From there I was taken by train to Dulag Luft near Frankfurt the next day. Here I spent seven days in solitary confinement. On the eighth day I was taken to a large room. There were other allied men there. I learned that this was a collection room, and that a group was being gathered for shipment to a permanent camp. I became aware of a man in the back of the room who resembled Pete Mullinax. I, thinking this was some German trick and that I was being watched, ignored him. Besides, all this time since the air-battle, thought that Pete was gone. Pete was not gone. It was him. Introduction Mission Overview My 2nd Schweinfurt Life as a POW |
