Item Description
Original Items: Only One Group Available. This is an incredible archive that belonged to Lieutenant Clarence W. Harris (ASN O-696462) from Holland, Michigan. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 445th Bombardment Group, 703rd Bomb Squadron, who was shot down with his crew over Rehren, Germany on November 26, 1944. (He was actually shot down while attacking Oil Refinery at Misberg). After going down he was captured, transferred to a Local Police holding area and served the duration of the War as a Prisoner of War in Stalag Luft 1. He remained at this camp for at least 181 days (7 months) until it was liberated by the Red Army. During this time he writes about learning about the news of the death of Adolf H as well as being liberated by the Russians.
A few excerpts from his personal account on the above mentioned events:
- Death of Adolf H and Rescue:
“May 1, 1945
BBC News, Hitl** dead,
Russians arrived, we took over camp,
hit parade
(1) Don’t fence me In
(2) Here’s that song again
(3) Accentuate the Positive
One of the Y.M.C.A. issued blue paper notebooks starts off with a crew roster as well as a short brief account of the day they had to bail out:
Crew
Pilot - 2nd Lt. C.W. Harris
Co-Pilot - 2nd Lt. L.F. Hanson
Bombardier - 2nd Lt. A.J. Carswell
Navigator - 2nd Lt. H.L. Anderson
Engineer - Sgt. W.M. Voelz
Radio Operator - Sgt. F.E. Welter
Gunner (Nose) - Sgt. G.S. Trumpower
Gunner (Tail) - Sgt. C.E. Stoetzer
Gunner (Martin) - Sgt. J.F. Conbog
Gunner (Ball) - Sgt. W.P. Beyer
1st Lt. B.W. Long - Flew on this flight
Sgt. Beyer - Did not fly on this flight
“Complete crew bailed out over Germany on November 26, 1944, with no deaths. Pilot, and bombardier were wounded by enemy gunfire, and the engineer, and radio operator suffered broken bones in their feet when they landed.”
Other entries in the (3) Y.M.C.A notebooks consist of camp menu items, types of foods they were fed, recipes, letters to his wife, more accounts of his service, sketches of maps and their B-24 on fire, rosters, books read and so on. These three notebooks contain a wealth of knowledge and information on his experience while being a Prisoner of War.
One of the hand written best entries in one of the books is about the day his B-24 was shot down, we have transcribed it below:
November 26, 1944
“We were awakened at 04:00 this morning for a 05:30 briefing, so after throwing cold water on our faces, and hands, we headed for the mess hall. We ate our breakfast, in high spirits, as it was the crews’ first mission together. We arrived at the briefing room a few minutes early, so we talked about the coming mission and our hopes of action. I had flown the day before to check out, so I was telling the boys about the flak, and what was to expect. When the main briefing was over with we went to our separate ones, and learned at this time we would have another fellow as co-pilot. He was an old pilot with 18 missions, and was going to check me, and the crew out as a team. We met in the locker room, and kidded each other as to how we looked in all our equipment, and helped tuck each other in. We grabbed our chutes, and rode the truck out to the plane, G For George, and pulled out things aboard. Andy briefed us as to our route, in and out, and which way to head back to our own lines, should anything happen. We made our take off and assembly over our designated spot, and headed out over the channel. We were flying on N for Nan’s wing and leading the high right element of the low left squadron.
Everyone was in high spirits, and we watched our little friends cover us into Germany. The flak was very light as we approached the target, and we soon learned why. We were pulling our element in tight, and everyone was busy with his own job when all hell broke loose. I looked up just in time to see a wave of ten FW-190s coming in at 12 O’Clock high. I slid my element over the rest of the formation to get protection from their guns. N For Nan got hit, and almost rammed us before they regained control, so I slid back out to avoid a mid air collision. The second wave of FW’s came through us just as we moved out, and they stopped us, and they scored a direct hit on our nose turret, putting it out of the fight, and also hit No 1, 3, and 4 engines. I salvoed the bombs from my control, and tried to contact the nose of the ship, or any part of the ship, as we were really hit throughout. During the next 30 seconds, at least 3 more waves of FW’s came through us, and we were now losing altitude and our own formation last. Our hydraulic, oxygen, and part of our electrical system was shot out, and my glove froze fast to the wheel of the ship. Now the Navigator’s voice come over the intercom, asking if we could hear him, so I told him yes, and asked a heading, as my compasses were out. J For Jigg was still on my wing, and now as the fighters closed in to finish us off we tried to protect each other. He knocked down two FW’s as they came in on us, then we saw him go into a steep dive out of control, leaving us alone with the Wolf Pack. We watched 10 fighters follow another ship down riddling it with gunfire, so we knew our fate.
They closed in on us, and one of them got a full blast into the cockpit, stunning me, I learned later that I was out for 3 or 4 minutes. When I came to we were at 15,000 feet, no 3 and 4 engines, we’re going fast, and there wasn’t an unbroken instrument on the co-pilot side of the panel. The bomb bay was full of gas, there was a fire in the nose compartment, the only guns left fireable were the waist guns, so I thought it was time to leave. So I called on the intercom to bail out, and the co-pilot rang the alarm bell, and told me to get out, and he’d hold the ship steady. I couldn’t move, so I told him to get out, but he shook me, and tore off my flak suit, helmet, and oxygen mask, and finally brought me out of my stupor. I got out of the seat, told the radio operator to bail, pulled on the Martin gunners leg, got him out, and then bailed myself. I had sense enough to delta my jump, as I didn’t want to make too good a target for those FW’s. I later learned that some of the boys were fired at, although I don’t know of anyone being hit. I waited until I could distinguish things quite clearly on the ground, then I pull the ripcord. I stopped In mid air for the second time that day, then slowly descended. FW’s screamed down on me but I was too low for hilton fire so he buzzed over me 100 feet or more. I looked over to the right and watched my ship dive into the ground and explode. I prayed that every had gotten out alright.
Just about 10 seconds later the ground came up and hit me, I thought I broke my back, as I couldn’t get up. A group of civilians closed in on me, one with a rifle, and all of them shouting “Swine”, “Gangster”, “Killer“ and “Murderer”. I lay there holding one arm up in sign of surrender, and they came up, and one kicked me in the head, another raised his cane for a blow. This was stopped by a local home guard, and he and a couple of other men then pulled me to my feet and searched me. He then took me to his home, as I landed just outside of a small village, and sent for a nurse. They helped me undress, and washed my wound in warm water, and gave me a cup of coffee.
When the nurse arrived she dressed my wound and they made me a place to lie down in the stable and I tried to rest. Later they put me on a crude wooden stretcher, and placed me in a horse drawn cart, and took me several miles to a hospital. Head doctor looked at it, and re-dressed some for me, and then with only five guards I was walked to the local depot.”
There is a fourth notebook in this lot which is clearly different from the rest. This smaller notepad was actually put together by Harris. The hard outer panels or covers are actually cut pieces of cardboard taken from Red Cross parcel packages. We are uncertain as to where the paper used in the notebook were taken from, however the last few pages are opened and flattened cigarette pack paper, a very personal and unique touch!
Other paper/document items include copies as well as original of his official military documents/reports, German POW documents pertaining to Harris, photographs and unit history books, flight log and “picture book”.
Other items present:
- Stalag Luft 1 Identification Tag: This is a wonderful example of an unbroken POW prisoner identification tag. The Gefangen Nummer prisoner number 6409 is present and matches the number assigned to Harris in his documentation.
- Hand made POW Stalag Luft 1 Camp Wings: The manufacture of insignia became a cottage industry in some camps. The insignia, mostly American and foreign aviators' wings, were made from lead removed from used corned beef containers. They were traded for tobacco products, chocolate D-bars, and other items. Display boards were some- times used to mount collections of prisoner-made insignia. This is just a single set of Wings.
In addition to lead, the gold lining of empty toothpaste tubes was placed over a pair of wings or other insignia and a pointed object, such as a sharpened twig, was used to press the malleable toothpaste tube material into the original insignia to form a hollow duplicate of the wings with a gold-colored finish. One postwar American Y.M.C.A. publication, The Yankee Kriegies, also reported that wings were made with the lead foil from packages of cigarettes. This foil was also melted and poured into molds.
- x3 American Legion Annual Convention Medals (1948, 1953 & 1954): Harris was a lifelong member of the American Legion. The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of United States war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, in turn, made up of local posts. The organization was formed on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, by a thousand officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the U.S. Congress.
- Leather Name Tag (As Used on A-2 Jackets): A small leather name tag with LT C W HARRIS in gold print.
- Armed Forces of the United States Identification Card: This is one of the nicest examples we have seen. There is no damage, clouding or separation in the lamination.
- British Made Felth 8th Air Force Shoulder Sleeve Insignia: A round shoulder patch for the 8th Air Force during World War II. The background is blue. In the center, embroidered in gold, in an "8" with wings. In the center of the "8" is the insignia for the Army Air Forces, which is a white five-pointed star with a red circle in the center.
All items are in fantastic condition and very presentable. This is a collector opportunity that very likely won't come around more than once in a lifetime.
Stalag Luft I
Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. About 9,000 airmen – 7,588 American and 1,351 British and Canadian – were imprisoned there when it was liberated on the night of 30 April 1945 by Soviet troops.
The camp was opened in 1941 to hold British officers, but was closed in April 1942, when they were transferred to other camps. It was reopened in October 1942, when 200 RAF NCOs from Stalag Luft III were moved there. From 1943, American POWs were sent to the camp.
Stalag Luft I consisted of a West Compound (also referred to as the South Compound) and North Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Compounds, separated by German quarters. According to Lt Col Charles Ross Greening, Senior Officer in North Camp 1, "Our barracks were rough, wood frame structures standing on small foundation posts about 8 to 10 inches off the ground. The Germans had dug a series of shallow trenches underneath the barracks to allow guard dogs to creep along and detect any tunnelers. Occasionally, the German guards themselves crawled into the trenches and listened to the conversations of the prisoners in their rooms." North No. 1 Compound had a mess hall, where bread, potatoes, and vegetables provided by the Germans were supplemented with food parcels supplied by the Red Cross. Greening states "The parcels included tins and packets of such items as jam, cheese, powdered milk, meat, sardines, margarine, raisins, chocolate, coffee, sugar, and crackers." An escape committee composed of senior camp officers approved all submitted escape plans. According to Greening, "In all, 140 tunnels were dug at Stalag Luft 1." The camp held about 9000 men prisoners.
On 30 April 1945, the prisoners were ordered to evacuate the camp in the face of the advancing Soviet Red Army, but the Senior American Officer, Colonel Hubert Zemke, refused to give the order. After negotiations between Zemke and Commandant Oberst (Colonel) Gustav Warnstedt, it was agreed that to avoid useless bloodshed the guards would go, leaving the POWs behind. The next day, the first Soviet troops arrived.
The Soviet troops treated German civilians in the area badly, but American and Commonwealth personnel were treated with respect (the liberated POWs were careful to wear armbands on which their nationality was written in Russian). The Russian soldiers replaced the Germans as guards and locked the gates and refused the Allied soldiers to be evacuated, it wasn't until almost two weeks later that a US Colonel showed up and threatened to shoot the Soviet Commander if he didn't allow his "Allies" to be released. With the threat of being shot he ordered the gates opened and the prisoners to be evacuated. B-17 Bombers that had all of their armaments taken out were flown in and all remaining Allied prisoners were finally evacuated by air.
Between 13–15 May, the camp was evacuated by American aircraft in "Operation Revival". The British POWs were returned directly to Great Britain, while the Americans were sent to Camp Lucky Strike north-east of Le Havre, France, before being shipped back to the United States.
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