# Talk:Phil Lamason

The info box shows the years of service in the Royal NZ AF as "1940-44". Surely his service didn't end in 1944. I doubt that the was discharged from the RNZAF in 1944 while he a prisoner of the Germans. I would suggest that his service probably ended around V-E day in May 1945 and release of the POW's. What do others think?--TGC55 (talk) 14:56, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

You are correct, so I have changed the date to 1945. Cheers, Spy007au (talk) 09:07, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

"At great risk, Lamason also got word out to the German Luftwaffe of their captivity at the camp.[15][17]"
Why would alerting the Luftwaffe do anything? —Ed 17 (Talk / Contribs) 17:48, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps because there's quite a camararderie between airmen, and many of them would be disgusted at such treatment of POWs.  David Underdown (talk) 18:13, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
Well...I think that should be included in the article... —Ed 17 (Talk / Contribs) 20:19, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
Having checked out the sources used, I've added a note of explanation.  David Underdown (talk) 08:54, 16 January 2009 (UTC)
I wrote this article after watching a program on the History Channel about the incident. David Underdown is correct, Phil Lamason got word to the Luftwaffe because he understood they would be sympathetic to their predicament and that they had the political connections to get the airmen transferred. I have sourced a reference for this in the book I am currently reading about the incident. Also, the program stated that the Luftwaffe would not want their POW airmen treated in the same way, as their was a common bond between airmen going back to WWI. Hope this clarifies. Regards, Spy007au (talk) 09:18, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

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This article is mainly based upon recollections by Lamason and other veterans, notably Joe Moser. So far archival research has not turned up evidence to support their stories. In particular, there is no evidence that the German Air Force was secretly notified by Lamason, then made contact and thus demanded the transfer of the airmen to a POW camp. There is also no archival evidence that an execution was scheduled for 26 October other than Lamason's testimony since the 1980ies. Mitchell G. Bard follows Lamason in that he claims an execution were scheduled for October 26. In his study of German concentration camps Eugen Kogon, however, merely states that no one knew why the Allied airmen had been brought to Buchenwald in the first place. He does not mention execution orders for them (but for Yeo-Thomas). There are other veterans who tell a slightly different story. John D. Harvie, one of the Canadian airmen at Buchenwald, wrote in his memoir Missing in Action (1995): It turns out that our disciplined military behavior had convinced the secret prisoner underground that we were indeed Allied airmen. This group alerted the Luftwaffe, whose responsibility it was to guard enemy airmen. The Luftwaffe, who hated the SS, immediately set in operation the process for our transfer to POW camps. (p. 238) He also relates that Lamason recently revealed that just before we were transferred to the POW camp the SS had received orders we were to be hanged. (p. 238)  A German journalist researched the claim that Johannes Trautloft was involved in the rescue of the airmen, but did not find evidence in German archives. According to him Trautloft had been identified by Moser on a photo that was presented to him by a filmmaker. The journalist interviewed the Gedenkstätte Buchenwald about it. Historian Harry Stein stated that it was possible but not certain that Trautloft visited Buchenwald and that it was also possible but not certain that reports by Luftwaffe officers like Trauthoft may have influenced the transfer of the airmen to Stalag Luft, but that there also may have been no connection at all. Stein considered it impossible, however, that Trautloft alone instigated and managed the transfer.Link In conclusion, the article should make clear that it is mainly based upon the recollections of Lamason and other veterans by attribution.--Assayer (talk) 01:47, 28 June 2018 (UTC)