Post by connie on Oct 15, 2021 10:49:28 GMT -5
Grant, Kenneth, S/Sgt 422 Hq 3rd BN HQ POW Stalag IVB, III-B, III-A Grant was in an anti-tank platoon within HQ Co of the 3rd Bn of the 422nd. He was in a forward position, captured on 12-19-44.
BIO & DIARY: www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Diaries/Stalag%20IV-B%20Mulberg/Grant-Kenneth-422HQ-4B-3B-3A/Grant-Krnneth-422HQ-4B-3B-3A.pdf
A brief glimpse at the detailed diary listed above: Dec. 27, 1944 We got to where we were going today (Stalag IV-B Muhlberg) and had to stand out in the cold before we got a bath and our clothes deloused. We then had to go and get registered and searched. After that was over we finally were split up and put into huts with some R.C.A.F. boys. They had some hot soup and a cigarette waiting for us. They gave us a bed to sleep in. I mean a sort of a bed. They were boards with a little straw on them.
December 21 Diary notes shared by son Frank: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/1505/thread
Son Frank's Notes: My father was captured on 12-19-44 and was liberated on 5-5-45. He was a Staff Sgt. and had a dog tag from Stalag IV-B. 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/753/thread
Frank Grant Comments on Book: Life Behind Barbed Wire: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/1320/thread
My copy of Life Behind Barbed Wire arrived and I went through the pictures and text comparing it with my father's POW diary and he could have been writing the captions for many of the pictures. The things he talked about in his diary were hard to make a mental picture of until you see it in a photo, like the little stoves they made from scraps that had a blower so they would use less fuel to cook their food. One part that got to me was the author talked about getting a ride on a horse drawn wagon because he was getting too weak to walk any further during the march between POW camps and my father talked about trying to catch a ride on a horse drawn wagon, but wasn't able to because there was no more room. I don"t know how many wagons there were, but they could have been talking about the same one. My father also talked about being liberated by the Russians on April 22, 1945 and there were a number of photos of the liberation in the book so I could see how happy they were and not just imagine it.
As far as reviewing the book, it was interesting and showed a lot of pictures of how the POW's passed their time with hobbies, playing music and putting on plays. It also showed that the non-coms were treated, in some cases, better than the enlisted men as far as receiving Red Cross packages, attention by the Red Cross, the YMCA etc. Even so, it was no picnic.
Also see Overview of Camps that held members of the 106th: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/752/thread
BIO & DIARY: www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Diaries/Stalag%20IV-B%20Mulberg/Grant-Kenneth-422HQ-4B-3B-3A/Grant-Krnneth-422HQ-4B-3B-3A.pdf
A brief glimpse at the detailed diary listed above: Dec. 27, 1944 We got to where we were going today (Stalag IV-B Muhlberg) and had to stand out in the cold before we got a bath and our clothes deloused. We then had to go and get registered and searched. After that was over we finally were split up and put into huts with some R.C.A.F. boys. They had some hot soup and a cigarette waiting for us. They gave us a bed to sleep in. I mean a sort of a bed. They were boards with a little straw on them.
December 21 Diary notes shared by son Frank: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/1505/thread
Son Frank's Notes: My father was captured on 12-19-44 and was liberated on 5-5-45. He was a Staff Sgt. and had a dog tag from Stalag IV-B. 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/753/thread
Frank Grant Comments on Book: Life Behind Barbed Wire: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/1320/thread
My copy of Life Behind Barbed Wire arrived and I went through the pictures and text comparing it with my father's POW diary and he could have been writing the captions for many of the pictures. The things he talked about in his diary were hard to make a mental picture of until you see it in a photo, like the little stoves they made from scraps that had a blower so they would use less fuel to cook their food. One part that got to me was the author talked about getting a ride on a horse drawn wagon because he was getting too weak to walk any further during the march between POW camps and my father talked about trying to catch a ride on a horse drawn wagon, but wasn't able to because there was no more room. I don"t know how many wagons there were, but they could have been talking about the same one. My father also talked about being liberated by the Russians on April 22, 1945 and there were a number of photos of the liberation in the book so I could see how happy they were and not just imagine it.
As far as reviewing the book, it was interesting and showed a lot of pictures of how the POW's passed their time with hobbies, playing music and putting on plays. It also showed that the non-coms were treated, in some cases, better than the enlisted men as far as receiving Red Cross packages, attention by the Red Cross, the YMCA etc. Even so, it was no picnic.
Also see Overview of Camps that held members of the 106th: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/752/thread