[tommythev]

Yes, in 1950. He spent 3 1/2 in a POW camp to be “de-Nazified” (he was not a Nazi, he was 17 when inducted, but the bureaucracy checked up on each soldier before releasing them). The POW camp was in Southern France. He had no interest in going back to Dresden, where he grew up, as it was pretty much destroyed and controlled by the Communists (Soviet-occupied). After being released he ended up in Bavaria, where his girlfriend from high school had a job. They got married December 1948. His uncle lived in NJ (a machinist who emigrated in the early 1920’s) and sponsored them. He earned his EE from Rutgers (his German high school diploma earned him two years of credits) and worked in defense electronics. His company built a key component of the ECM system of the F-15 and the B-1B. He retired at age 77 after selling the company. He had some interesting war stories, but only saw the edge of any battles. Generals like to have their communications evacuated first when things go bad. My favorite story involved fishing with grenades.

[colorado tanker]

My favorite story involved fishing with grenades.

LOL! Did you see the movie "Second Hand Lions"? We're introduced to the two wacky lead characters by discovering they're at the pond behind their house "fishing" with shotguns. :-))

I met an ex-POW who was a neighbor of my in-laws in a small town in Nebraska. He'd been sent to a camp the U.S. and eventually got a local sponsor to immigrate. He was from Silesia, which was ceded to Poland, so his world really had disappeared. Great guy - known for always having cold beer on hand. :-))