Camp near Siegberg Germany?

[Jean Jacobson]

Hello Christoph!

 

I have just sent you an email and wonder if it worked. It has the Map of the Siegburg Cemetery attached to it.

 

I checked the names you sent me of Fulton, Kritzer, and Reavill and they are not one of the 22 names on list of who was buried in the same cemetery which included Dryden. Oh I hope they lived. They were referred to as all air-men but could have been Army. Maybe I will sent your document to the Marauder fellow.

 

Now I did have a stroke of good luck last night as I read the Jan. 2004, edition of The Flash, the newsletter that was put out by the 78th Division. In it someone was requesting information on Waldbrol, Germany. Once again I do not know how to attach it to here and so I will email it to you until I learn how to handle attachments without depending on my husband who is not here right now.

 

Anyhow, as a reminder, Waldbrol is where Mr. Norton was transported to from Siegburg. I will have to find editions after Jan. 2004 to see if anyone responded.

 

Also the First Division Museum Research sent me many pages on what the First Division was doing during the period Dad would have escaped, and there is no mention of escapees. If you want me to, I will send you that information

 

Bye for the moment,

JJ

[Jean Jacobson]

Christoph,

 

I did not get a chance to tell you that the people at the Michaelsburg Abbey were kindly towards us. The one gentleman gave us a brochure that said after the Abbey was bombed Dec. 28, 1944, the Abbey was closed. If you would like, I can find it, and scan it for you.

 

They showed us around a little bit and things have been changed since we were there in the 80's. I have some interior photos from that time. Even then, it was hard for Dad to figure out how the place had been during the War. They told us in 2 years they are going to do a major renovation inside.

 

Sister Edelrud Koch said there was no mortuary there. But Dad said there was and obviously what he did to bury the men could not be done at the Hospital for everyone to see. I wonder now if that area that they are making the liquor in today, was the mortuary.

 

I just wrote to the 2 addresses that the First Div. lady suggested I write.

 

Bye for now,

JJ

[Christoph]

What should I say to our vacation, the weather was sun and dry, we were on a camp ground, or tent 10 meters to the Mediterranean Sea, first bath before breakfast every day… but two days of Bora with a braking tent pole and some ruptures in our tent – the next time we’ll need a new one.

 

Jean, you’re writing about a christmas tree, but I did not find this story, have you sent it to the forum before? After 122 postings I'm loosing the overview.

 

I got the mentioned book about the end of WWII in the Siebengebirge now. It’s quiet interesting, but written from a german point of view, with some quotes of civil contemporary witnesses, unit numbers etc. are only rarely mentioned. American prisoners are not refered.

 

You have mentioned commander McNair. Which McNair was it? I first thought Lesley McNair, but he was already dead at that time, commander “Buck” McNair was Canadian... Maybe this could be a way to find the unit who picked them up.

Thank you for the map. It is the Nordfriedhof of which I had posted some photos here. I'll have to go there again and look for the marked place. It seems as if John H Reavill survived the wa, worked as leather merchand and died in Nottigham in 1996, following to the London Gazette which has published several information about him over the years - in 1943 that he got the Distinguished Flying Medal and finally in 1997 the notice about his death.

 

Waldbröl is not so far from here, but I don't have information concerning the fights there. Ley was not only a war criminal but also a notorious drinker, known as "Reichstrunkenbold" (Imperial boozer), and he called his daughter "Lore"!

 

I see in the background another mail from you, Jean! Of course I'd like to see what Mr Stolz sent! Shall I publish it here if you have problems to do so?

 

There have been several changes at the Abbey made while the reconstruction after the war for different reasons, for example because they found the grave of the founder of the abbey St Anno.

 

Christoph

[Jean Jacobson]

Christoph,

 

Your vacation sounds great! Lots of adventure, and oh wow, to be so close to the Sea. Where you live is so charming - I love the little center square area. I do not remember that at all from the 1980's but maybe we just did not go there.

 

Yes, me too, I need to go back and reread each thing you sent and be sure I followed up on everything. I guess I did not tell you the Christmas tree story. It is short. They were allowed to have a Christmas tree, up at the hospital, not in barracks because Norton did not know about it. The bombing was so horrible that the cook came in furious and made them take it down. My Mom remembers the story too.

 

Mc Nair was a mistake in my trying to recall who Dad had mentioned. You are right he was dead - would have been a real miracle if it had been him. I am continuing that search by researching but also I am in process of cleaning out my storage unit - maybe there I can find some more of my old notes.

 

When I see you in Siegburg, is there a place I can purchase the book about Siebengebirge. No I will not have learned German by then. Actually, if I started right now, I could not learn it in my lifetime. It is very difficult to pronounce so many of the sounds. I am still struggling with the Good Night or Good Morning in German.

 

Gad the news on Reavil is exciting! Fantastic! He lived! Amazing! How I wish my Dad was alive to hear each of these new discoveries! Do you suppose he ever told his family or the outfit he was in, about his Siegburg experiences. I am sending Mr. Norton a copy of what you recently sent me on these guys plus a copy of what you wrote about it on here.

 

I sent the Marauder organization your news on those 3 men and maybe they will know something about the 2 Americans. Maybe they will say they were Army and not Air Force. Who knows.

 

I am also going to mail to Mr. Norton (I wish he had email) the 78th Division Waldbrol request and your comments about it as well. And then I have to unearth the 78th Div. newsletters from after that date and then I have to review them.

 

I do not understand about the grave of St. Anno. Was it under the building?

 

I need to go back to your earlier post to see Nordfriedhof photos. Because Stolz is ill I can not ask him any questions at this time. That might have been a stroke of good luck for him.

 

You should be asleep. And I am working away so I can justify taking a little time off so I can see the last show in a new series of "Dallas." JR is back.

 

Gosh so much more to write about. I should keep a list of what I still need to share.

 

JJ

[Jean Jacobson]

Christoph,

 

I found the Waldbrol info in After Action Reports for the 78th Division in April of 1945. I scanned and will try to figure out how to attach it.

 

JJ

[Walt's Daughter]

If you need help, let me know. You should simply be able to upload them, but if they are too large, it will let you know. If so, email them to me and I will upload them to the server.

 

All of you continue to astound me with the stories and your great discoveries. This is one hell of a topic!!!

[Jean Jacobson]

Here it is - the information on Waldbrol. Let's hope it attaches. And Thank You Marion for everything!!!The Flash.July 2004.Waldbrol.After Action Rpt Apr. 1945.PDF

[Walt's Daughter]

YEAH, looks like you did it!!!

[Jean Jacobson]

Hi Guys!

 

Mr. Norton was so interested as I read him the Waldbrol information over the telephone. It was so exciting to get to share this piece of history with him! He was not one of the ambulatory people. Then I mailed him copies of that and the latest information on the 3 gentleman that Christoph sent me and lots of other little things.

 

Last night I received in an email 2 photographs taken at the Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Colorado and next week I will share them with you. Again I need my husband to help me get them in a form so that I can include them. One is a drawing of Life in a German Prison Camp and the other appears to be the Red Cross Map that I sent earlier in my posts on this site. I have to go back and see if it is up there.

 

Now I see that the word Lazarett must mean Hospital in German. And the map shows Lazarett VIG North of Stalag VIG and North of Cologne. Wonder what the G was for? This map has a legend that is a little different from the map I have and also it shows Camps for Airmen, Naval and Merchant Marine Camps, and Ground Force Officers Camps. The photo does not show what was on the back of the map. It does state that this map is Based on Information received to December 31, 1944 and my map says the same thing.

 

And still the question lingers - where did Dad run to when he left the Camp on March 15th, 1945? No luck yet finding debriefing information.

 

It is so hard to stop doing WW2 things but I had better for now,

Jean J

[Christoph]

Jean

I decribed the system of POW camps on page 2 of this thread in posting #34. The G ist just a "running letter" in a row from A to K in area VI.

 

I was on the cemetary again yesterday and there is nothing about prisoners of war, only new graves of the last 20 years and those of which I have made in posting #31.

 

Christoph