5/12/2023 0 Comments Lucky strike cigaretteOn May 22, General Eisenhower visited the camp with an entourage and addressed the RAMPs. The impatience led to low morale and poor discipline. ![]() Yet for men who had spent time in captivity, the uncertain state of affairs at Lucky Strike could be dispiriting. It was emotionally troubling for some to have to record crimes they witnessed or speak about traumatic experiences they suffered while captive. RAMP and former Stalag Luft I POW Irwin Stovroff recalled being embarrassed that he cried during this part of the processing at Lucky Strike and that he had a headache once he finished “Mount Paper Trail." Some of these reports were used to locate remains or were used in court-martial or war crimes proceedings. Oscar Richard, 8th Air Force RAMP, described reporting to intelligence officers at Lucky Strike, “We were questioned about our last mission before capture, our group, our target, and so forth, as well as about our treatment at the hands of our captors.” The intelligence gathered at Lucky Strike also contained information about crew members still missing in action. David Howard, who survived at Stalag Luft III for 28 months, reported about the Red Cross doughnut supply at Lucky Strike, “At first the medical authorities wisely tried to limit the doughnut intake of recovered kriegies by issuing tickets to the doughnut lines, one per ex-kriegie.” But in German POW camps across Europe, these men had become experts in barter and trade, and some unfortunate men required hospitalization after amassing enough tickets for “several delightful hours continually going through doughnut lines.”Īfter medical examinations, RAMPs were subject to a range of forms and applications, as well as debriefing. In addition to the regular chow lines at Lucky Strike, the Red Cross was there serving up doughnuts. But many RAMPs found ways to supplement their new dietary regimens. Talks on reconditioning the digestive system were delivered and educational posters hung in the mess halls.įood was served in mess tents manned by German POWs, overseen by US Army teams advised by medical staff. Nothing to do anyhow.” Some of the men who had been eating unregulated for the weeks in between liberation and Lucky Strike were once again placed on restricted diets, resembling their old POW camp meals. Dick Terrell, 15th Air Force POW from Stalag Luft I, reported on the third day of 30 he’d spend at Lucky Strike, “Sick all day. Food regulation at Camp Lucky Strike was the beginning of a long road back to normal digestion and nutrition that for some would take years. Most of the men who had been imprisoned in Germany had lost a significant amount of weight due to the lack of food, and many RAMPs had a difficult time adjusting to regular meals. RAMPs in need of convalescence (some arrived via hospital train) were assigned to Block “C” of Lucky Strike. A 350-bed hospital run by the 77th Field Hospital expanded to a 1500-bed capacity augmented by the 306th General Hospital. Many RAMPs required hospitalization due to respiratory infections or malnourishment. Then the RAMPs were given medical examinations: x-rays, blood and urine tests, and inoculations. This alone gave many RAMPs peace of mind and restored a little bit of their humanity. ![]() ![]() New uniforms took the place of the hodge-podge of styles cobbled together by the former prisoners of war. Many RAMPs were wearing the same torn rags they had lived in for months. Showers and delousing happened immediately upon arrival, followed by the issuing of new equipment. After making their way to Lucky Strike, the RAMPs began to be “processed.” Around 7,000 former “Guests of the Third Reich” from Stalag Luft I were flown to LeHavre in B-17s as part of Operation Revival. Some were trucked part of the way to Strasbourg and then flown in C-47s to Camp Lucky Strike. Most of the American POWs in Europe had already been assembled (by the Germans) at Stalag VIIA in Moosburg near Munich. ![]() This became a bigger challenge when the war ended and 93,000 RAMPs began to assemble. In wartime, as POWs were freed, the War Department ruled that any American held prisoner for more than 60 days would be returned to the United States rather than returned to their units. Your trip home could be expedited or delayed based upon the luck of the draw. The circumstances of each of the men dictated their satisfaction with the camp and their treatment within it. Coddington, 2011.373.004ĭepending on the source, Camp Lucky Strike was either “Seventh Heaven” or complete chaos. Army Transportation Corps booklet “You’re Staging for the States.” Gift in Memory of Charles S.M.
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