The Paper 10-14-21

Page 1

October 14, 2021

Volume 51 - No. 41

By Tom Morrow

Writer’s Note: This is a story told to me back in 2006 by a decorated U.S. Army Air Corps veteran who experienced a Prisoner-of-War nightmare dreaded by all who have worn the uniform in combat conditions. Oceanside’s Bill Ryherd’s personal experience would never have been known had it not been for his wife who called and told me her husband had a story to tell. She knew he had been a POW held by Nazi Germany during World War II, but little else. His WWII experience The Paper - 760.747.7119

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was a secret he kept in the recesses of his memory until the waning years of his life. Bill’s wife knew he held memories that would cause him screaming nightmares. This writer was the first to hear the whole story. For history’s sake, here are those memories. Background of the 168 Allied fliers: Although it was highly unusual for German authorities to send Western Allied POWs to concentration camps, Buchenwald held a group of 168 aviators for two months. These men were from the

United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. They all arrived at Buchenwald on Aug. 20, 1944. All were airmen that had crashed in occupied France.

Two explanations are given for them being sent to a concentration camp: Either they had managed to make contact with the French Resistance, some were disguised as civilians, and they were carrying false papers when caught; they were caught and categorized as spies, which meant their rights under the

Geneva Convention were not respected. Or, they had been designated as Terrorflieger ("terror aviators.”). These aviators were initially held in Gestapo prisons and headquarters in France. In April or August 1944, they and other Gestapo prisoners were packed into boxcars and sent to Buchenwald. The journey took five days, during which they received very little food or water.

A notable traitor within the French Resistance was Jacques Desoubrie, who was responsible for betraying

Allied Flyers in a Death Camp


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