Thank you for posting.
My father was in Patch’s 7th Army and later in Patton’s 3rd. He was an armorer, serviced quad 50’s and Bofors.
Toward the end of the war he was 20 miles into CZ, when they were pulled back to allow the Russians to take Prague. When they were back they were in a place called Tegernsee in Eastern Germany. Then he was sent to Munich to stop some thefts of truckloads of supplies. That ended in 2 nights and he stayed there for some time. He saw Dachau not long after it was liberated. A high school classmate of his was Lt. Jack Westbrook, who was in the actual capture of Dachau.
They took of the people of Munich to Dachau so no one could ever deny what happened.
Dachau was a political prisoners camp.
While my father was there in Munich his company adopted a orphaned Russian boy, which they used as a translator. (there were many Russian soldiers killed at Dachau) The company supply person had a small GI Uniform cut down for the Russian young boy, I think he was probably around 14.
Dad died 3 years ago at 94. I have that Russian boy’s GI jacket. It was in my father’s cedar chest. I knew the story but he never showed me the Jacket. His company commander had given my father permission to bring that boy back to the US and adopt him. Dad did not follow through, he was afraid he would have a problem with the boy after what he had been through. He was thinking of my mother and wanted to start marriage together when he got home.
This video reflects a lot of things for me. I understand that sting of unexplained connections with people you do not know that were important. Not all people see them, but I have.
What a great story. Too bad you did not get it on tape, which I am so glad we did. These were truely horrific times for the Jews and anyone on the wrong side of the Nazis.
PS. Ira could no longer tell the story since telling it caused him to come down with shingles when he did from the stress of remembering. He has died since then.