|
|
Post by floydragsdale on Apr 1, 2011 10:10:20 GMT -5
Attached is a list of German P.O.W. camps along the Rhine River after the War. G Company of the 424th Regiment was in Heidesheim, Germany 66 years ago this month. The peak P.O.W. count there was very close to 100,000 German Prisoners. There was a shortage of food at the camp and we gave up one meal a day in order that the prisoners could have something to eat. Note: the list from Wikipedia is on a separate thread: 106thdivision.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=german&action=display&thread=505Floyd, 424th Regiment |
|
|
|
Post by connie on Apr 2, 2011 9:17:16 GMT -5
I was not aware of the American soldiers cutting back on their food to feed their German prisoners. This is touching.
I know that on the ships soldiers were served only 2 meals a day. I'm hoping that at this time the meal you gave up was one of three...?
Connie
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana E on Apr 2, 2011 10:39:56 GMT -5
I'm very interested in seeing your list of camps. I'm still trying to identify which camp(s) my grandpa was assigned to.
About providing for the prisoners...this hurts to tell, but my grandpa was demoted for giving his gloves to a prisoner whose hands were bleeding from building the barb wire fence. I admire him so much for his gesture, yet I also understand the general hatred for the Germans that I presume was the catalyst for his being disciplined.
|
|
|
|
Post by floydragsdale on Apr 3, 2011 18:22:11 GMT -5
Hello Connie:
We gave up our noon meal so the German P.O.W.'s could have something to eat.
In place of a meal we were given a canteen cup of soup. It was something similar to Beef Bouillon. Not much nourishment in it but something was better than nothing.
I don't believe the American High Command anticipated the flood of P.O.W.'s that we had on our hands.
I learned from one of the P.W's that they (Germans) discovered that American Soldiers were treating P.O.W.'s much better than the English, French or Russians were. So they surrendered to the American Army if they possibly could.
During the War German and American Soldiers had one thing in common; they were simply following orders.
War for the Soldier on the front lines is hell, no matter whose side the individual is on.
We (the 106th Division) processed & discharged close to one million German P.O.W.'s in about three months. That was one heck of a job.
Floyd
.
|
|
|
|
Post by connie on Apr 5, 2011 9:48:02 GMT -5
Floyd,
Thank you again for this vivid glimpse into history. We are so lucky to have your active participation on this sight.
As always I find that the answer to one question soon yields another question. Now I know what you ate in place of the meal you gave up, I'm wondering about the meal given to your prisoners. Was it a hot meal? Rations? What would a sample of this meal look like?
Connie
|
|
|
|
Post by floydragsdale on Apr 5, 2011 10:13:06 GMT -5
HI Connie:
The P.O.W.'s were served whatever we didn't get; that was always a hot meal.
Near our billits I discovered a patch of rhubarb. This soldier picked some; talked our Company cooks into giving me some sugar and then proceeded to build a fire and then cooked it in my helmet. It sure tasted good; however it set my stomach on a rampage for a day.
Floyd
|
|
|
|
Post by connie on Apr 7, 2011 16:14:51 GMT -5
Floyd,
I can almost taste the rhubarb... So distressing to have to pay for something that tasted so good...
I'm curious about the hot meals. Can you give me some examples. I know that dad mentioned tasting his first green vegetable in a long, long time when he was in Antwerp waiting to return home...
Connie
|
|
|
|
Post by gfgrant8443 on Apr 8, 2011 8:22:02 GMT -5
Connie
I can recall my father wouldn't even let a can of Spam in the house, so that must have been a regular offering.
Frank
|
|
|
|
Post by floydragsdale on Apr 8, 2011 9:16:08 GMT -5
Connie:
The ingredients of the meal, for the P.O.W.'s, was pork, beef, or chicken, a hot vegetable, slaw or somthing similar, bread with margarine and a desert. The Army had tons of dehydrated poataoes, so that was probably one of the hot vegetables on the menue most days.
Floyd
P.S. As long as this soldier was in the Army spam was never served at mealtime.
Yet, my brother, who was in the Air Corps, had a steady diet of it. To this day, he will not touch the stuff.
|
|
|
|
Post by connie on Apr 9, 2011 21:18:02 GMT -5
Frank and Floyd,
Interesting conversation... Funny you had no Spam, Floyd. My dad (field artillery) was like Frank's on the issue of Spam. Even the mention of Spam brought a negative reaction. I am sure this was a mainstay for him in the ETO.
Connie
|
|
|
|
Post by floydragsdale on Apr 10, 2011 20:05:31 GMT -5
We had "K" rations, " C" rations and "D" bars. However, during the B.O.B. the Germans had severely disrupted supply lines and rations of any kind were in short supply; at least for us.
One day I found a piece of cheese in fresh fallen snow and I scooped it up and ate it. That was my meal for the entire day.
The time we hiked 45 miles in a day it was on an empty stomach for many of us. We simply didn't have any rations.
One time one of our men grabbed a ten-in-one ration off of a Sherman tank as it passed our Company on the road. That box was opened at once and cans of "stuff' were passed around.
The can I got was froze solid so I couldn't open it until we were in "foxholes" for the night. Then I had to hold it between my legs to thaw it out. What I thought was frozen meet turned our to be a can of ice cold spinach. Nevertheless. I ate it.
Something tasted better than nothing.
Floyd
424th Regiment
|
|
