LIBERATION OF BUCHENWALD CHAPTER

12

corpses were left to rot in the railway cars. If you’re a U.S. soldier arriving at Dachau, you’d almost certainly see the “death train” first. Bodies were stacked like cordwood.”

My theory is that my grandfather knew about Dachau and the railroad cars. My theory is that he specifically visited Dachau because he needed to pay his respects to those poor souls that could have been saved if the Allied Forces only arrived sooner at Buchenwald. Like I said before, I don’t think my grandfather randomly visited Dachau or because it was one of the only ones still standing. I believe he visited Dachau because he wanted to say goodbye to those that couldn’t be saved the day they liberated Buchenwald.

My mom told me that she believes that the liberation of Buchenwald haunted my grandfather for the rest of his life. What he must have experienced there is something that nobody would wish to experience. The only narrative that I have regarding my grandfather speaking about Buchenwald in his own words is taken directly from the Army reunion article that was published when he visited Al and the rest of his Army buddies in Minnesota. In the article it says, “For Paul Guiton, being a member of the 2487th 2nd Platoon brought many memorable experiences. While hauling supplies in Europe, the 2nd Platoon took medical personnel and supplies to a concentration camp in Germany. “The people (prisoners) were scared of the Americans,” said Guiton. “They thought we (the Americans) would do to them what Hitler did.” The scenes at the concentration camp were unbelievable, said Guiton. “Bodies were piled up next to a building like firewood and several feet of human ashes could be seen.”

Finding out that my grandfather and the Detachment A of the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) helped to liberate Buchenwald was absolutely a surprise like no other! Researching this particular history lesson was very difficult and definitely one of the hardest yet. There are hundreds and hundreds of articles and videos regarding Buchenwald on the internet. There are even videos of the footage taken the day it was liberated. I caution you with what you will find and see with your own eyes. The pictures that I found in my grandfather’s briefcase when I was a kid was just a fraction of the visual horrors that have been recorded regarding the atrocities at Buchenwald and other concentration camps during World War II. They were also just a fraction of what my grandfather must have seen.

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.