June 10, 2009
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)
I'll never forget holding World War II medic Tony Acevedo in my arms. He wept and convulsed for more than 10 minutes, his body constricting and tightening in a way I'd never seen before. "I'm sorry," he said, repeating, "I'm sorry. I want to say more, but I can't."
I held his hand and hugged him until he calmed. I had asked what I thought was a simple question. "When I say the name Erwin Metz, what comes to your mind?"
(excerpt)
Marktredwitz, Germany: American medics treat an emaciated, 20-year-old soldier, Private First Class James Watkins of Oakland, California. Watkins was one of 63 American prisoners of war who survived a death march from the subcamp of Buchenwald known as "Berga." Located near the town of Berga am Elster, Germany, the Nazi camp put its captives to work to build a secret underground factory for creating synthetic fuel. The camp's code name was "Schwalbe V."