Christoph, My Gosh, one post from you is like some kind of a Doctoral Thesis! You are Brilliant!!!
That Roster site is amazing! I will explain more later.
Jean J
I don't know whether there was a hospital in the camp in Bonn, but they also had red crosses on the roof:
Another Turner Publishing book, not available in Germany;-)
Christoph
Christoph, Again WOW!!!
You will not believe your timing on sending me the Archive website!!! Last week I started filling in all the forms for NARA in St.. Louis. Some people told me to go ahead and put in a large request rather than just asking for records on a few people - especially since I travel out there to review and then copy the records. So I sent the large request in and asked to be advised if it was appropriate to do so. I heard back that I needed to find Serial Numbers for my requests. Probably if I had only sent in a few forms like I did last time, I would not of had a problem.
They were helpful and sent me back the following website, that knowing you, you already knew about. I am inluding thier response with the website address.
"We are glad you are pleased with our service. We reviewed your requests and need some more assistance on your end before we can process your requests. We suggest you go to our website at www.archvies.gov and search the Access to Archival Databases for WWII enlistment data to see if you can ID service numbers for your requests before you submit them to us for processing. Here is the link to that database http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=893&cat=WR26&tf=F&bc=,sl . This database is for Army enlistment records only but you may be able to identify a lot of service numbers for your requests. After you check this database to see what service numbers you may be able to identify first, then submit your requests to us for processing."
So Christoph, I did what they asked, but guess what? I still had plenty of blank spaces. This is more than you probably want to know but I am so grateful for your email today that I must continue telling you about the dilemma I had this morning, and now do not have, thanks to you.
I had resolved that I would sort out the many records that had blanks where I should have serial numbers and only send in those with what were hopefully valid Serial numbers for those people. Just when I was getting ready to do that I checked the famous 6th Corp Website and there you were with the answers!!!
More to follow, and do not want to lose this. Someone has come in.
Jean J
Christoph,
So guess what? Your Roster site had lots of the missing numbers! It also has other things that I will comment on later.
But thanks to you I am only missing numbers for 3 of the names of the deceased POW's that I know about.
On the Archive site I could not find a serial number for a fellow Medic, Mike, that last saw my Dad before Dad was captured. I am sure if you were doing the research you would have located a serial number for him already. This man wrote 2 long letters to Mom during the War and even he was surprised that the first was allowed to go out. From his writing he was a very special person! I tried to locate him and/or someone in his family and will try to do so again at some point. I would like his descendents to have copies of these letters - they display the character of a genuinely beautiful human being.
It is so endearing to hear this man refer to my Dad throughout as "The Moose" and he apologizes for that at the end of the letter and says "but that is what we all affectionately called him." Even in February of 1945, and Dad was captured around October 7th, of 1944, Mike writes that " the other day the Monster and Little Monster were asking me if I heard any thing about 'the Moose.' " Because it is February it means that these 3 men survived the Battles in the Hurtgen Forest where most of their outfits were decimated. They also survived the Battle of the Bulge but I am not sure where Mike's outfit was at that time since they had suffered so many losses that they did not play as big a role as other outfits.
More to follow. And as always, THANK YOU for all of your information and guidance!
Jean J
Christoph,
That Roster Stalag site is great! Truly another Oh Wow!
I estimated the entries per page and let’s say there are 50 and then with 9 pages that means 450 plus the last page of 17 = 467. We know that Waldprol only had 71 of those. I saw in that 467 – Norton, and Ken, and Stang, and Rodriguez, and my Dad
BUT I did NOT see Walter Brineger, Alano Grano, or Dale McClara. Maybe I missed them but I do not think so.
I also searched to see if anything, first or last name could be a Gidrie. And had no luck with that.
I wonder how they created this Roster. Obviously it was not from 1 source, like the people who were in the Camps at the time of liberation, because how did my Dad’s name get added to the list.
So my theory on Brineger, Grano, and McClara is not verified from this list.
And while I recently saw a note I wrote from a conversation with Dad (I need to type all of these up as I locate them) there appeared to be beds for 70 men at the hospital.
So these 467 men must have come from both the Lazarett Stalag 6G in Siegburg and the other Stalag 6G.
Last week at NARA in Maryland I put in a request to see if I could find a list of the 71 men who were liberated from Waldbrol. If I ever get that, maybe that will be of some help. Theoretically quite a few of those names, if I ever get them, should be part of the 467 on this website you sent me today.
More to follow,
Jean J
Christoph,
I am still trying to digest everything you said and sent today. I stopped doing everything else and what a list I have and it is growing. But this is so much news that I can not seem to stop going through it.
I ordered that book you referred to. Not sure if I ordered the right one, but we shall see. That was fascinating to hear about more red crosses on roofs.
The POW Bulletin also is fascinating. I am going to see if I can find others. I do not know how you found it, but very impressive! As always you turn up the most incredible things!
I wanted to tell you that I wrote Stolz last week. I do not know if I will hear back from him, but I gave him the news on Stang, Bower and Grappes. I also wrote the Marauder group and told them the same news on those 3 men.
There is a dedicated couple of gentlemen in Holland that have a Medic website. The site is www.med-dept.com/about.php. I think they call it the WW2 US Medical Research Centre. I finally sent them the names of 2 men that trained with Dad at Camp Pickett, Virginia to become Medics. That is not what Dad was supposed to be trained as - but they sent him to the wrong school!
Maybe tomorrow I will get to send off the forms to NARA in St. Louis.
Bye for now, I promise,
Jean J
Christoph, I have new news! And again, thanks to your Roster list, I can verify that 9 new names that I received from NARA in Md. are part of the 467.
Last night I was elated to see I had a response in the mail from NARA of Md. I was not expecting to hear anything for weeks. I could not review anything in depth of what was there because it was late and so of course I could not sleep, thinking of what I had found. Today I went through it all and now will change my request to NARA of St. Louis and add these 9 names and remove some others for now.
NARA sent me the same report you sent me - the inspection of the Hospital and the 3 men that were already at Siegburg.
They sent me a deposition by a gentleman whose wounds kept him lying in bed. He refers to being at Waldbrol. More to follow on that.
Then there is a list of 8 men who must have been shot down and wounded. I tried finding them or family members. I thought my best chance was a gentleman that was born in 1925, he was the youngest of the 8. I just finished speaking to his son, who said he Dad passed away a few years ago. The son will put me in contact with his brother and also his Dad's brother and see what they recall. I did learn that this man had his face burned and spent time in a German hospital and then when he was able enough, they moved him.
He said he remembered his Dad saying that some of the guys would shave their backs because of Lice. And his Dad thought they were treated pretty fairly. His Dad was not bitter.
Good Night,
Jean J
Hello!
This week they started digging at the Michaelsberg to find one of the tunnels to find rests of ammunition of the war:
but the tunnel is not found yet.
Christoph
Christoph,
How interesting! You wonder if this was one of the tunnels they used as a bomb shelter. I also wonder what makes them think there is more war ammunition there. Maybe there was a story being passed around after the War. I hope no one gets hurt. It will be pretty exciting to see what they find. I wonder if it is the City of Siegburg or the Government above that is sponsoring and paying for this excavation. It will be fun to see where they did their digging whenever we actually get to come over there.
Still trying to get papers organized and heading to Mom's.
Jean J
Jean,
I think they'll pay. They want to build a new building extension to the abbey above on the hill, and there was one of the 3 shelter tunnels which was closed after the war by american troops. People said that there was a lot of ammunition and weapons sunk in the tunnel, now they checked the the area with metal and other detectors and found there must be a lot of metall and some hollows in the ground. Now the bomb disposal team is at work and searching... but until now only scrap.
Christoph
This is really exciting. To me this means that more than rumor they have some real information from folks who were once on the scene.
Is the digging going on down the side of the hill below the rose garden/barrack area - where the children and their parents were playing. If so, that must block traffic going up the road to the Abbey.
Now I was wondering if the NARA info on the 8 Stalag 6G boys was done on German stationary, since the column headings are in German, wouldn't there be an equivalent for the German soldiers that were wounded and there. Where did they get taken as the Allies got closer? And where did the Dr. and the new hospital administrator (after Theo) go and so on? Good questions for Sister E. Koch but she may not have any idea. I wonder if Otto C. could give us some guidance.
I am going to send this Siegburg exploration information to Harold, one of the gentlemen who fought in the Battle for Siegburg. I am so happy to have it to send to him. As always, Thank You Very Much!
More to follow,
Jean J
Hello Again!
I have so many more phone calls to make to the Veterans that I know but I wanted to tell you quickly that I got in touch with the family of one of the 8 men (Bob) that are on the new list from NARA in Md.
I think all of these 8 men went from Siegburg to a "Dulag Luft vers." Bob went to Stalag Luft 3 and it is stamped on a lot of papers that the son has. I was taking notes down furiously as we talked and one of Bob's sons will scan some of the things and send them to me.
Bob's plane was shot down on 11/26/1944 and he was captured right away. His parachute was burning and he was burned on his hands and face.
They have a Jan. 1, 1945 letter from 6G (can't wait to see the address and letterhead.) They have another letter dated 1/8/1945 and a 3rd dated Jan. 28th, 1945. I think the one dated Feb 19th is the one that says "I arrived at this Camp day before yesterday and from what I hear this is to be our permanent camp.
We can identify/verify the Camp he was at because in the documents there is a letter "I was certainly happy to see General Patton's tanks come in to Camp Sunday." He also said "Now I know how a liberated POW feels to see Old Glory raised where once stood the Swastika."
What a perfect comment on Veteran's Day!
Jean J
Very interesting list! A "Dulag" is a transit camp ("Durchgangslager"), "Luft" means it is managed by the Luftwaffe for air men, "vers". means "sent to". All 8 are marked as "Verw." = wounded. The Dulag Luft were used for interogation of west allied POW. I think they were sent to Wetzlar, a geocaching website with some information and old photos:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC17YW7&Submit6=Find
There is a text about Dulag Luft, here a english review:
http://www.perspectivia.net/content/publikationen/franc ia/francia-recensio/2009-4/ZG/geck_mackenzie
The digging at Siegburg has already stopped, they didn't find anything more 
Christoph
ChristophAll I can say Christoph is WOW!
You did it again! And I am starting to understand it all a little bit more.
Norton was so excited about the digging. Now I must tell him it is over. Just from that conversation he said: where they went was close, it was a little to the Left, and a wall, kind of a like a cave. Every day there were air raids - Many Many Many! And they went out willingly! They may have been false alarms but they did not take a chance.
Do you suppose that most of those 467 people actually did make it to the hospital and then got moved out.
More to follow. Still have a few Vets that I could not get, and want to try again but may have to do it tomorrow. Need to get to Mom's too.
Thank You, as always!
Jean J
