Mr. Draft-Dodger Trump, THIS is what a true Purple Heart awardee looks like:

[ehrnst]

A photo of my Grandfather, upon his exit from Stalag II A in 1945. (he's the one squatting in the front - far left)

From the letter that he wrote to my spouse, after my spouse (a history buff) asked him about his service. He never talked much about it until we got this letter and photo.

"I went through bits and pieces of this 50+ year old story. I went through the Italian campaigns Sicily, Naples, Santa Maria, Anzio Beach, Rapido River, Salerno, Rome, Florence.

Then Invasion So. France, Frajtes Beach, captured Aug 30th 3:30 am, Rhone Valley outside Valeure France.

I was a machine gunner (30 gal water cooler) C.O.M. 142 INF 36th Division. Held in France 6 weeks, put in box car to Stalag 12A Limburg, Germany. Wound up in the prison hospital 5 days later with pneumonia.

After released again loaded on boxcar “40 ton car.” Locked in 14 days. Wound up in Neubrandenburg Germany, Stalag II A on the Baltic Sea. There I stayed till liberated by Russians in April ’45.

Escaped once, Ray Vanarsdale, Frenchie Thibadeaux & myself. Were caught 20 days later. Put in City jail til German guards came and got us. We evaded the guards when this young German soldier took us up through the compound. (LUCKY).

The picture of Ray, Frenchie, Henry Morris, Rohland Stager and myself and the horse and buggy we stole 5 days after the Russians left. We stole a camera, too to take pictures& map. We traveled 11 days hiding out in barns, etc. We ran into the 82nd Airborne Headquarters 11th day. They deloused us, burnt our clothes and gave us uniforms & we were on an Army plane within 50 minutes. Taken to LaHavre France Army Hospital.

They kept us 6 weeks fed us 6 time daily 2 oz servings. Our stomachs had shrunk. They said that if we ate full meals it might kill us. Then they shipped us home on a deluxe liner 6 days. (took 28 to cross over) Paid us 2 yrs Back pay and 60 furlough and we all lived happily ever after. HA. I’m quite sure you know that there is a lot more to this story, I just touched on some of it.

You can feel blessed you are the only ones I ever told this much. Hope it Helps."


And a sound, "Fuck You," on behalf of my Papaw, who voted Republican, except for Jimmy Carter, and would dismiss you with a snort and a long puff of smoke from his cigar, were he alive to see you run for president. It never occured to my family to sue Roosevelt, Eisnehower or any other government official because he was a prisoner of war - which, by the way, Mr. Trump does not make him or John McCain a "loser."

My research on what happened to him revealed that he was loaded on a boxcar - with a small hole in the corner floor for relieving onesself, given a piece of bread and a cup of water a day for about 12 days. Bodies found dead would be dumped, and once he was diagnosed with pneumonia, and simply given "some pills" and extra water at the hospital. The photo was taken with a camera taken from the dead body of a German guard before they headed out of camp, not sure what they would encounter.

[Frustratedlady]

1. What a story! Maybe you should send it to some LTTE in your city or nearby to give it exposure.

I wouldn't change a word.

Shame on Trump for many reasons, but that one burns.

BTW, this reminds me of a similar story along the line of the Trump shenanigans. An elderly friend and I went to the funeral home to sign the book for an old classmate of our husbands, who were both deceased. We had always known that this guy lied (or, stretched the truth--to be kind). However, it appears he got caught in a huge lie when he apparently told his second wife (after his first wife died) that he had won a Purple Heart and that she must have believed him so much, she included that in his obituary. Well, we knew for certain he had never won the Purple Heart nor any other type medal other than the usual that most won.

To be certain, I even searched the military records on-line for Purple Heart recipients. Out of 4-5 sites, he was not listed at all. I only did this for verification, as in my heart of hearts, I KNEW he had never won that medal. We laughed, knowing our husbands were up there getting a kick out of another lie their old friend had told.

What is it about these guys? No point in even trying to make people believe you won a Purple Heart if you didn't.

[ehrnst]

2. Papaw had his medals in a small frame in his den.

He didn't discuss the war much at all, except once when the movie Patton was on - I think I was about 10. He looked at the TV, said, "He had a very bad temper, trust me. We were just cannon fodder to him."

Thanks for the idea on the LTTE. I also have his armband, which was an identifier as to his rank in the POW camp. On the back he wrote the dates and locations of every battle he was in. It's quite a piece of history. I'm looking for the right museum to give the photo, the letter and the armband.

[Frustratedlady]

3. There is a group that is collecting letters from former service personnel on their experiences.

I can't remember the name of the organization, but will try to find it. My husband was in the Korean War (as was the guy I was just referring to) and he wrote up some memories for them. Problem is, I'm in the process of downsizing and not sure if I can put my finger on the book that has the info for the place to contact. You might be able to Google for it.

Many of the vets never/rarely discussed their wars they served in. My husband only wrote his down at my insistence as part of his biography for the kids/grandkids. The great-grandkids use the info for school projects, particularly for national holidays involving service personnel.

The information you have is a treasure.

[ehrnst]

4. Please do. We want his war service artifacts to be preserved.

I'll try to google as well.

Thanks!

[Frustratedlady]

5. I found one for WWII. There may also be links by state.

http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/wwiilist.html

I googled for group collecting veterans' stories about war and got a bunch of sites. It would probably be more visible if you could add it to your/his state's collection. That way, it wouldn't get lost in the numbers of submissions.

My uncle donated my great-great-grandfather's Civil War records (he was a captain) and flag to the state capitol. I know it is still there and the flag is often displayed.