Communication
from
German Prisoners of War
and their Families
"I am sure you know
what a wonderful thing you are doing
by writing people these messages.
You should be very proud of your part
in this war."
Card from Mrs. Dorothy Barker, April 3, 1944.
Information on Stalag Luft 1 (Air Force Officers), located at Barth, Germany..
Prisoners of War, Stalag Luft 1.
01. Shortwave message from Stephen W. Barker:
Mrs. Dorothy Barker
282 East Pearl Street
Pamona, California
Darling wife and folks:
I am well. Am now at a permanent camp in Germany. Treatment is good. Plenty to eat. Send packages, etc. One wounded. Do not worry. Keep your chin up. I love you always, Your Butch. (1st Lt. Stephen W. Barker).
02. Card from Mrs. Dorothy Barker, Pomona, California
Mrs. Dorothy Barker
282 East Pearl Street
Pamona, California
April 3, 1944
Dear Dr. Bell:
Just a line to thank you for relaying the message from Stephen on to me. It was the first I had heard from him since he has been a POW. I received 24 letters telling me about hearing his message over the short wave and I really appreciate what you did for me. It helps so much to get a personal message.
Since receiving the letters, I have had a card from "Butch." He is doing fine but it was dated January 11th, so the news you sent me is more recent.
My sister's husband is a POW in Rumania. Her husband is safe and well, too. We feel we are very fortunate.
Thanks again for writing to me. I am sure you know what a wonderful thing you are doing by writing people these messages. You should be very proud of your part in this war.
Sincerely, Dorothy Barker.
03. Shortwave message from 2nd Lt. Phil Berman
2nd Lt. Phil Berman
9401 64th Road
Forest Hill
Long Island, New York
Am now at a permanent camp in Germany. I am well and treatment is good. Do not worry. Write all you wish and send candy and reading material. See Red Cross about details of writing me. All my love, Phil (2nd Lt. Phil Berman).
04. Letter from Mrs. Rita Berman, New York, New York
1599 Broadway
New York, N. Y.
March 30, 1944.
Dear Dr. Bell,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the information I received from you regarding my brother, 2nd Lt. Philip Berman.
I had received a communication from the war department telling me he was a prisoner of war, but this is the first information to come directly from him.
Needless to say it has made me and my family very happy to know that he is safe and well.
The splendid work you are doing is certainly appreciated by all concerned. Please allow me to thank you again for your trouble.
Sincerely yours, Mrs. Rita Berman.
05. Letter from Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Brookshire, Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Rt. 3 Box 240
Winston Salem, N. C.
March 20, 1944.
Dear Sir:
It was so thoughtful of you to write us about the broadcast you heard from Germany & send the message our son Sgt. Charles Brookshire sent. We didn't hear the broadcast and we are indeed grateful to people like you for letting us know. Our son has been a prisoner of war for over a year and the latest letter we have had from him was dated Dec. 12, 1943 and received today. He says he is all right and spends a lot of time reading & wood carving.
Thanks again for your kindness.
Yours truly, Mr. & Mrs. W. J. Brookshire.
06. Card from Mr. and Mrs. Ray Burke, Spencer, South. Dakota. April 2, 1944.
Spencer, S. Dak.
April 2, 1944.
Dear Sir:
This is to acknowledge the recent message I received from you. We were very happy to receive this news.
Thanking you very much for your thoughtfulness and kindness.
Sincerely, Mr. & Mrs. Ray Burke.
07. Card from Mrs. Bethi J. Burlingham, Walnut, Iowa, February 22, 1944.
Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness. I am deeply touched by the many messages I have received from all up & down the east coast & as far west as the Mississippi regarding this broadcast. My son, a gunner on a B-17, was missing from the Oct. 10 raids -- found and reported by the International Red Cross on Dec. 16 as POW. I have one card signed by him on Oct. 19 received this week. I have a friend whose son is a navigator whose first word came thru these messages.
Sincerely, (Mrs.) Bethi J. Burlingham.
08. Card from Mrs. Leon Carpenter, Whitingham, Vermont, March 26, 1944.
Dr. Bell,
It surely was very nice of you to take time to tell us of the message you picked up from our son, Kenneth. He has been a P.O.W. over a year and any message we get from him means so much. His letters are four months old. He speaks very highly of the Red Cross. We can only hope and pray [they] will all be home with us soon again.
Thanking you, Sincerely, Mrs. Leon Carpenter.
09. Letter from Mrs. Robert John Cavendish, Huntington, West Virginia, April 11, 1944.
April 11, 1944.
Dear Sir:
I want to thank you for your kindness in informing me of the broadcast on March 24, from Berlin when a letter from my husband, 2nd Lt. Robert John Cavendish, was read.
It was indeed good to hear from him personally for I knew that he was a prisoner of war, but had had no direct word from him up to that date. Since then, however, I have been fortunate to have heard by card.
Thanking you again for helping the morale of the Cavendish family! I am,
Sincerely, Mrs. R. J. Cavendish.
P.S. I am a Mississippian.
10. Letter from Mrs. J. E. Doty, Huron, Ohio, March 26, 1944.
Huron, O.
Mar. 26, 1944.
Dr. C. S. Bell,
Inverness, Miss.
I wish to thank you for relaying to me a message from my son. It sure made the world look brighter. He was a pilot on a Fortress and was listed as "missing" from a raid over Germany Jan. 11. I had a letter from him dated Jan. 9th. I hope we can be able to contact him soon. Have not been notified as yet by the gov't. I really appreciate the fact that you took time to send this news to me, as I well know the present day strenuous duties of a dentist or physician. Thanking you again, I am,
Sincerely yours, Mrs. J. E. Doty. (344 Main St.)
11. Letter from Mrs. Mrs. James E. Foley, Almeda, Texas, March 21, 1944.
Almeda, Texas
Box 60
March 21.
Dear Dr. Bell:
I received your letter with the shortwave message for me from my dear husband. Words can't say how I appreciate it.
I had a card from him today from Dulag Luft, Germany. Said he was feeling fine and the whole crew was o.k.
I do not have a shortwave radio, so if you hear any further news, I would surely appreciate it.
Sincerely yours, Mrs. James E. Foley.
12. Letter from Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Foley, Oconto, Wisconsin, April 11, 1944.
(Printed stationery)
Oconto County Highway Department
Oconto, Wisconsin
C. L. Foley, Highway Comissioner
April 11, 1944.
Dr. C. S. Bell
Inverness, Miss.
Dear Dr. Bell:
We acknowledge with deep appreciation the message forwarded to us, which you heard over the air from a Berlin Radio Station on March 22 last.
It is very gratifying to know that our son, Martin Eugene, is safe and we hope to receive further news, so that we can correspond with him in the very near future. Many thanks!
Sincerely yours, C L Foley.
13. Card from J. H. Gordon and family, Mobeetie, Texas, March 29, 1944.
Mobeetie, Tex.
Mar 29 [1944]
Dr. C. S. Bell,
Glad to get the message of George W. Gordon and many thanks. We got several letters and were so glad to get them. It made gladness in our hearts to think he is alive. It made sunshine in our lives. Much happiness to you.
A friend, respectfully, J. H. Gordon and Family.
14. Letter from Edith Hankins, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, March 3, 1944.
March 3 1944.
Dear Dr. Bell,
Thank you so much for your letter concerning my brother, Lt. Harvey L. Hankins. We received 53 cards and letters from all over the U.S. from people who heard this broadcast, and we were so glad to get each one. Our family sincerely appreciates your thoughtfulness.
Sincerely, Edith Hankins.
15. Letter from Mr. and Mrs. John C. Jones, Manilla, Iowa, February 27, 1944.
Manilla, Iowa
February 27. 1944
Dr. C. S. Bell
Dentist
Inverness, Mississippi
Kind friend:
Received your letter containing message of comfort from our son, Edwin. We feel very grateful to you for this kind deed. The last report received from Edwin was September 8th. He was taken prisoner at Tunesia between March 21st and April 7th. This is all the information we have been able to obtain. Please inform us if there is a change in your address in the future as I am sure our son will want to write to you and express his appreciation after his return. Thanking you again, we are,
Yours in Truth, J.C.J. Mr. and Mrs. John C. Jones.
16. Letter from Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Light, Longview, Washington, April 18, 1944.
2802 Florida St.
Longview, Wash.
April 18th, 1944.
Dear Dr. Bell,
We appreciated the letter you sent to us informing us that you intercepted a message broadcast from Berlin March 21st, which was sent by our son, Ray, who is interned in Germany.
We received many letters from people back east who listen to these broadcasts and since then we have tried to tune in by short wave here, but have had no results.
We are extremely grateful to all you good people who take the time to send these messages and I know the relatives of these boys must have the same thrill and happiness as we in receiving them. People have been wonderful to us in these trying times and it goes a long way to help comfort our feelings.
We feel we have so much to be thankful for that our son is well and being well taken care of and so much to look forward to that he will someday be home with us again. Since you wrote to us, we have received his address and have written to him, also sent him a box of nice things that we are sure will give him joy and comfort from home.
Our son is interned at Stalag Luft 1 and we hear the Red Cross food parcels reach this camp regularly and for this we are grateful more than we can tell. We realize how much this can mean to the boys interned in these camps.
Sincerely, Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Light.
17. Letter from Mrs. W. Matthews, Detroit, Michigan, March 10, 1944.
Mar. 10, 1944.
Dear Sir,
I received your message this morning telling me about the broadcast from Germany last Saturday night
We had already heard from the government, to tell the truth, the Provost Marshall and the Intelligence Service both sent us a telegram, also a lady, Mrs. Bender, from Penn. write us. It was wonderful to hear it, and more wonderful to think that people would be so kind as to take the trouble to let us know, but as my daughter said, that's the way people do things in this great country of ours.
Particularly, we are happy about the news because it's been ten weeks since we had any letters from him and then they are dated so far back, that this news coming and being of a closer date is especially grand. The last letters we received from him were dated Oct. 3, 1943, so you can see what I am trying to say.
I wish to thank you very kindly for sending the message on to me and if by chance you hear anything more of my son, I would appreciate hearing about it.
Sincerely yours, Mrs. Matthews, 15721 Log Cabin, Detroit 3, Mich.
18. Shortwave message from L. G. McCollom
Mrs. L. G. McCollom
116 Jefferson St.
Hoquiam, Wash.
My Darling Butch,
I am now prisoner in Germany. Was slightly burned, but am o.k. now. Let the gang back in England know. I am well. Treatment here is good. Pray for an early end of this war. Try sending packages and write. See Red Cross about details of writing.
Love, Mac.
19. Letter from Mrs. L. G. McCollom, Hoquiam, Washington, April 5, 1944.
Mrs. L. G. McCollom
116 Jefferson St.
Hoquian, Wash.
April 5, 1944.
Dear Dr. Bell,
I want to thank you for sending on to me the radio message from my husband, who is a German POW. That message was the first direct word I had had from him in the four months since his capture, so you can imagine how deeply I appreciated receiving it.
Since the radio message came through, I have received a letter from him written from Dulag Luft, a transit camp for airmen. He was to be transferred to a permanent camp soon, but as yet, I have received no address for him. He said not to write to Dulag Luft. Incidentally his letter was over 3 1/2 months in reaching me, so it may well be that the was will be over before he receives a letter from me. I sincerely hope so. Thank you again for your kindness.
Sincerely, Mrs. L. G. McCollom.
20. Shortwave message from Lt. Sidney Passin
Mrs. Hymen Passin
2350 Crenshaw
Los Angeles, Cal.
Dear folks:
Am now in German prison camp. I was forced down and not hurt. No one of crew was injured. Treatment is good here. We are fed o.k. Will write later. See Red Cross about details about writing and sending packages.
Love, Sid.
21. Card from Mr. and Mrs. H. Passin, Los Angeles, California, March 31, 1944.
Mr. and Mrs. H. Passin
2350 S. Crenshaw
Los Angeles, Cal.
3/31/44
My dear Dr. Bell,
We are boundlessly grateful to you for conveying to us the precious message from our son, Lt. S. Passin. We only knew that he is a POW, but haven't heard from him in many worrisome months. Therefore, you can imagine how happy your kind letter made us.
Most gratefully yours, Mr. & Mrs. H. Passin
22. Card from Mrs. Helena Patterson, Stuttgart, Arkansas, March 26, 1944.
Mrs. Helena Patterson
R,F,D, #1
Stuttgart, Arkansas
March 26, 1944
Dear Dr. Bell,
Thank you for your interest in notifying me of the short wave broadcast of my son, Lt. Leslie R. Patterson. Needless to say, any news of him is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely, Helena Patterson.
23. Card from Mr. and Mrs. Will Thomas, West Point, Mississippi, April 16, 1944.
4/16/44
Dear Sir:
We wish to tell you how much we appreciated the letter we had from you telling about the broadcast you heard over the short wave radio about my son. We did not hear it for we can not get short wave easily.
Sincerely, Mr. & Mrs. Will Thomas.
24. Letter from Mrs. Frances Wiggins and Sadie M. Lowy, Quarryville, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1944.
Quarryville, Pa.
Apr. 14, '44.
Dr. C. S. Bell
Dear Dr. Bell,
My daughter, Mrs. Frances Wiggins, asked me to help her answer some of the many messages she received telling of the s. w. broadcast Mar. 24 from her husband, Harold V. Wiggins.
She works 6 days a week and travels 60 miles to and from work at Bainbridge N. T. S. so has little time.
She wants you to know she appreciated your letter and please excuse her for not answering sooner.
She received her first card from her husband on Apr. 3. It was written Jan. 11, six days after he was shot down. Thank you again.
Sincerely, Sadie M. Lowy