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Well here I was in the Ruhr Valley, shot down myself after shooting down 1 German--definite and 1 probable. I hope the Germans were not killed. I buried my parachute and as I was disoriented, stayed in the field until I thought of what to do next. Then I walked west, going by my button compass. At daylight I hid in a potato field and ate raw potatoes, but my impatience got to me so I tried walking across the field in daylight. It wasn't long before some railway workers saw me and with iron bars in their hands, I wasn't going to argue with them. They took me to a farmhouse and the German couple gave me some eratz coffee and black bread, it sure tasted great.
Soon the Gestapo came in a car for me and they were not so nice. They poked me in the back with their guns, kicked me in the ass and hit me with their fists--- and then on to Gestapo headquarters where some jerk I couldn't understand tried to interrogate me. Finally he gave up and called the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) to pick me up. They took me to a German air training center and in the officers mess I had two drinks and a lovely beef stew. The air force couldn't have been nicer to me.
From there I was taken to an interrogation camp by train. The guard went to sleep and I wanted to jump off the train and escape but the speed of the train was too fast, so I was a good boy till I got to Dulag Luft the interrogation camp. At arrival I was stripped of all clothing and put in an 8ft by 8' cell with a peep slit on the door and a trap door to slide the food in. The bed was small but comfortable with a tabel for interrogation.
My German interrogator was an ex British professor and probably came to Germany before the war started. First I had to fill out a phony Red Cross card with information we could not give. I gave them my regimental number and after 10 days in this cell, I looked forward to seeing this man because he gave me cigarettes to smoke. However I still only gave him my number. Finally he said I could be shot and I told him "bull shit" Anyway, they must have already had information on me and my squadron ect. because the information he gave me was correct.
Finally I was let out of the cell and joined the main camp. As the camp had hidden mikes, we were told not to talk about the air force ect. in camp. The food was very good and we were being softened up to think kindly of the Germans. Some of the British officers permanently assigned to this camp were court marshaled after the war for collaborating with the Germans. They were even allowed out on the town and supplied with girlfriends or whatever they wanted. |