The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-05-10

holding impromptu quiz programs,
amateur hours and group singing.
From somewhere the prisoners had
obtained an accordion and a guitar to
provide musical accompaniment.
When they turned in for sleep the
prisoners were comfortably warm,
each having a blanket, and with two
men in each bunk there were two
blankets to a bunk.
] During all the time Stonehill was
in camp, he did not receive any in
ternational Red Cross boxes, one of
which containing foodstuffs of various
description was to be delivered to
each prisoner every two weeks. At
ter their liberation, the prisoners
learned the civilians in town had been
appropriatng the Red Cross boxes
consigned to the prisoners.
Some Serbs in the same barracks,
however, had been receiving Red
Cross boxes, and these they generally
shared with the Americans. In the
boxes are IL pounds of canned meat,
canned fish, cheese, sugar, candy
powdered milk, crackers, one pound
of butter and cigarettes. By sharing
the boxes received by the Serbs, every
four men had one box every two weeks
Stonehill said.
Whenever boxes were distributed,
the guards punched holes in all the
cans, in order that prisoners could
not save supply which could be used
| in case of escape.
Read Bibles
| With little to do other than going
out into the forests on fre-wood de-
tail, the prisoners put in their time
reading Bibles, with which each sol
der was supplied. Shortly after
Stonehill arrived at the camp, some
playing cards were received from
nearby German hospital where wound
ed American soldiers were cared for
until they recovered sufficiently to be
sent to prison.
The wounded in the hospital re-
ceived good care and were well fed,
Stonehill reported, but when they re-
covered they were taken to Bad Orb
and were put on the prison camp diet.
Two German doctors were assigned
to the camp, but they had little to
work with in the way of medicine or
drugs. An average of one death daily
occurred in the camp, most of which
resulted from pneumonia or diseases
brought on by malnutrition.
One protestant and one catholic
chplain in the camp conducted funeral
services, and prisoners fashioned
wreaths from pine tree branches to
place on the graves of those who died.
Burial services were held in ceme-
terry outside the camp grounds.
The German captain in charge of
the camp could not speak English, and
his orders were transmitted by Ger
man-speaking Americans located in
each barracks. These German-speak-
ing Yanks who acted as interpreters
had an advantage in that they receiv-
ed extra rations and cigarettes from
the guards. Most of the guards were
older men, about so to go years old,
and Stonehill never heard any of them
refer to Hitler or the war.
Hear Battle
When the American army finally
broke thru the German lines, the pris-
oners could hear the battle for Frank
furt, and saw continuous streams of
Allied reconnaissance planes.
The night before they were liberat-
ed battle was fought for the town
of Bad Orb, at the foot of the noun
tain two miles away. When the Ger
mans surrendered the town, they also
surrendered the camp and there was
no fighting in the immediate vicinity.
The first American tank to arrive
broke thru the large main gate and
the prisoners were free. Guards were
told by the commander of the camp
that they could flee or surrender, and
Stonehill said that most of them sur
rendered.
Hungry prisoners surged out of the
camp and swarmed into Bad Orb
where they broke open stores and
helped themselves to anything they
could find to eat. They entered civil
ian homes and found the Red Cross
boxes which were supposed to have
been consigned to prisoners, but which
the civilians had obtained in looting
warehouses.
Many of the prisoners were made
i'll by the sudden change from star
walton diet to obtaining plenty to eat.
Leave BY Plane
Liberation of the camp was COM
pleted on April 2, and on April G the
army took 1000 Americans by plane
to the French port of LeHarve. They
embarked on. ship April 13, and ar
rived in New York, April 28. A band
met them at the pier, and the Red