LIBERATION OF BUCHENWALD

Chapter 12

TO FIND OUT THAT MY GRANDFATHER LIBERATED BUCHENWALD AND SAVED THOUSANDS OF LIVES MAKES HIM A BONAFIDE WAR HERO. IN MY MIND, THAT MAKES ALL OF THOSE SOLDIERS WHO WERE THERE BONAFIDE WAR HEROES.

So what could I possibly tell you about my grandfather that would impress you even more regarding his military history while fighting the Germans in World War II? What else could I possibly find out? What if I told you that his Detachment A of the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) was a part of the final push to break through to Germany and influenced the ultimate defeat of Hitler and his Nazi regime? Well, I already told you that and I already kind of knew that from what I have already found. Better yet, what if I were to tell you that my grandfather and Detachment A were part of the units that penetrated Germany, part of the units that intercepted distress calls from one of the largest and oldest concentration camps, and part of the units that were boots on the ground, physically involved, and on site to arrive, penetrate, and liberate the notorious concentration camp of Buchenwald? Well, he absolutely was and I had no idea about that, but I was soon to find out!

So how in the hell did I find out this information?

Let’s just say it was not from the internet, not from any information provided by Larry, and not by anything that I did. This was fate yet again bestowing her blessings on this project.

Here is how I found out. As I’ve been writing this publication, I have been keeping in touch with my mom and sharing with her every little bit of information that I have discovered. While doing so, I was trying to cover all of my bases and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. My mom knew that my grandmother had more letters from my grandfather from the war and after my grandmother’s passing, my Uncle Mike had possession of them.

By the way, here is a side note and some more irony for you. My Uncle Mike was in the Pennsylvania National Guard. The main headquarters of the Pennsylvania National Guard is at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. The 28th Infantry of the Pennsylvania National Guard is the oldest in the United States Army and during Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, due to their ferocious fighting tactics and relentless desire to never give up, the Germans nicknamed the unit the “Bloody Bucket” because of the red Pennsylvania

“keystone” badge on their uniform that looks like a bucket. Also another bit of irony, I later in my career worked at the Fort Indiantown Gap base as a federal contractor for the Pennsylvania National Guard. I was the lead Psychologist responsible to meet with the top brass to review and implement much needed mental health and family services for our soldiers. I would often walk into the main headquarters building, and there on the wall were paintings honoring the “Bloody Bucket” 28th Infantry Division. In those paintings were locations where they earned their honors and respect including Gettysburg, Normandy, and Battle of the Bulge. I would later find out that when my grandfather was discharged after World War II, he was sent to Fort Indiantown Gap for final release from the Army. Crazy right?

So back to the letters. Knowing that my Uncle Mike had the letters, my mom went over to his house. Together, my Uncle Mike, Aunt Debbie, and my mom reviewed the letters, found a bunch of additional pictures from the war (probably developed in the field by Coy Shirley), and sent me everything they had to help with my research (even though they had no idea I was writing this publication). What they sent me filled a lot more gaps and, like I said many times before, created new ones. There were photos of my grandfather’s Platoon of Detachment A, more photos of him and his buddies throughout the war, a tourist map of a concentration camp in Germany called Dachau, and even a newspaper clipping of the Army reunion that the whole crew attended in Minnesota with Al (remember he was Paulette’s dad).