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SILENCE IS GOLDEN FOR A WORLD WAR II VETERAN'S

FAMILY -- "My father never talked about

being a prisoner of war."

 

 

Story here... http://www.wiscnews.com/
jcs/news/116489

Story below:

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Silence is golden for a World War II veteran's family

By Gail Boehm Star-Times

"My father never talked about being a prisoner of war in World War II," Carla Loging of Camp Douglas said. "When I was growing up, my brother, Gary, and I knew he was a POW, but learned few details until after he died March 6, 2003."

Loging said throughout the years, her children would ask their grandfather questions about the war and being a POW, but he would never say anything. Loging's husband of 36 years, Denny, agreed and said, "All the years I fished with my father-in-law or was with him, he never talked about the war." Loging's mother, New Lisbon resident Elva (Belcher) Crawford, also did not speak about it.

"Because Dad was private about it, Mom didn't talk about it, either," Loging said. "We all respected his privacy. At times, and especially at Christmas time, my Dad would get very quiet and now that I understand what he had gone through, it was probably post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)," Loging said. "That generation just did not share the pain they had been through."

Following her father's death, Loging and her brother, Gary, who served in Vietnam, found a locked box (which she described as similar to a fireproof safe) full of significant items her father saved concerning the time he was held prisoner of war in Germany from Dec. 19, 1944 to April 22, 1945 and afterward. Some of the items in the box included telegrams sent to his parents letting them know he was missing in action, notification that he was a POW, and when he was returning to the United States, a map indicating the numerous Stalags the POWs were taken to, articles from the Ex-POW Bulletin which documented POW stories of being in a boxcar with Allied bombing and strafing and a journal which documented his military career from induction to return to the U.S. for discharge, and a personal timeline of events.

Some of the excerpts from his journal include:

"... Dec. 19th (1944) we were ordered to take supplies to a certain point, Major Helms was not in favor of it, but had to follow the colonel's orders. We delivered our supplies, turned around to leave and were cut off by eight tiger tanks, the largest weapon we had was 50 caliber ring-mounted machine guns on top of our trucks. This would be like shooting a truck with a BB gun. Major Helms gave us the choice of trying to fight our way out and none of us make it, or give up and part or all of us come out alive. There was about 60 of us. We decided to give up and he surrendered us ...

"Dec. 20, we started to walk from Auel, Germany to Koln Germany, a distance of about 40 miles. At night, if they could find an old barn, there is where you stayed at night. About every hour the ones next to the walls would move to the center, the center ones moved to the walls so the other ones could get warm. There was not enough room to sit down or lay down, what little sleep you got was standing up. We had nice winter boots but the Germans took them and wore them. That's when we had our feet frozen. The temperature was about 10 degrees. Dec. 23, we arrived at Stalag 12A. We were bombed that afternoon, eight killed. They loaded us in box cars to move us to Stalag 4-B. Because of the bombing there was no place to stay at 12-A by now, there was about 300 of us. They put 60 men to a box car, wired the doors shut. Not enough room to lay or sit down, you slept standing up. When someone had to go to the bathroom, you used your steel combat helmet and passed it to the end of the box car where there was a small window about eight inches high and 24 inches long so it could be dumped outside. A lot of it did not make it to the windows, the smell in these cars was very sickening, you got used to it because you did not have any food to eat anyway.

"Dec. 24, we were parked in a railroad yard in Berlin when American bombers bombed us. While we were being bombed, everyone sang "Silent Night," as it was Christmas Eve. Thank God the bombers were not that accurate.

"On Dec. 31 we arrived at Stalag 4-B. There we got a slice of bread made of potato peelings and sawdust. There was no water to drink, you ate snow.

"Jan. 8, 1945 we left 4-B. On Jan. 10 we arrived at 3-B at Luxemburg, Germany. Jan. 31 we left Stalag 3-B because the Russians were making a big push into East Germany. We hiked for 14 days about 150 miles. Our food was raw turnips growing near the road. Some nights you stayed in barns or a fenced yard. If you could not make it and dropped out, the Germans would shoot you and leave you there. Our guards were Hitler youth who had been taught military since the first grade. Most of them were 16 and 17-year-old boys.

"...On Feb. 13 we arrived at Stalag 3-A south of Berlin ... We were housed in tents about 300 to a tent ... The temperature was from 0 to 10 degrees.

"Every day the Germans would turn the water on in a half-inch pipe. You stood in line for one to one and a half hours to fill your canteen so you had water to drink. When you were four or five (people) from getting to the water, they would turn it off. The next day, you started all over trying to get to the front of the line.

"... We did not have a bath, wash or shave for five and 1/2 months. In that time you wore the same clothes."

U. S. Air Force Technician Fifth Grade Robert W. Crawford, who grew up in Camp Douglas, married Elva July 22, 1945 and was discharged from the military that December.

About veterans and her father

Loging, who is the secretary to Stan Johnson, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Director at Tomah, added that many people have contacted her since her father's story came out in the September/October edition of "The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Magazine, The VAnguard." She said, "Many people did not know my father was a POW.

"At work, people email me from all parts of the country saying how moved they were over the story," Loging said. "It does make you think when you see veterans...you wonder what is behind their eyes and what stories or experiences they had that have never been told."

Loging said she was glad her father was the focus of the POW story adding, "If it helps just one person to understand what these veterans went through, it is worth it."

Loging said there have been many changes in the 23 years she has worked at the V.A. hospital in Tomah. "Our facility is very dedicated to helping and recognizing veterans. We annually have a POW/MIA Program at our facility and we now have a 'Hall of Heroes' which recognizes local veterans for their military accomplishments. We are constantly looking at ways we can better serve veterans. After all, they are our nation's heroes."

About Loging

Loging, who grew up in New Lisbon along with her brother Gary, has always lived in the area. She said, "Our three children, Amy (Mike) Voigt of Wisconsin Dells, Stacy (Andy) Berry of Breckenridge, Colo. and Brad in the Air Force in Anchorage, Alaska, grew up here and went to New Lisbon Schools."

As far as her father's story goes, Loging said she hopes it can help others understand that although a veteran may not talk about it, they too may have gone through more than we will ever know.

Loging added, "I am so proud of my dad and only wish I could tell him I'm sorry for what he went through...I had no idea."

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Larry Scott

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