Washington's POW Escapee

The following is an excerpt from the late Mary Kerr’s book “Washington on the Homefront and the POWs.” Mary was the instigator of the entire Washington Rewind project.

The best information about the most famous German prisoner held in Washington, Illinois comes from Reinhold Pabel’s own autobiography, “Enemies Are Human.” In it, he wrote that on September 10, 1945, he lifted two strands of wire separating the German Prisoner of War camp from Washington citizens, went under the fence, walked north down Wood Street to Route 24, hitched a ride to Peoria, and boarded a bus to Chicago where he lived for eight years before the FBI caught up with him. By the time of his capture in 1953, he was the owner of a bookstore, married with one child and another on the way.

German Sergeant Reinhold Pabel’s thoughts of escape from a POW camp began two years before in the fall of 1943 when the Americans in Sicily captured him. He was held in several Illinois POW camps and transferred to Washington from Camp Ellis in September, 1945. By this time, World War II was over and prisoners knew that they would be returning to Germany. American POWs had already been liberated from their European prisoner of war camps and had returned to the United States. Rumors were circulating that the German prisoners would be returned to Europe to work in France or Great Britain as part of the War retributions. Pabel thought it would be some time before he would be a free man, and he decided he wanted to be a free man in America.

In May of 1944, while at Camp Ellis, Pabel began his E-Day (escape day) plan. One day he was on garbage duty and found in “American” magazine by J. Edgar Hoover entitled “How Enemy Prisoners Are Recaptured.” Pabel hid the article in his shoe for later reading, and studied the main points: 1. Do it alone; 2. Don’t talk more than absolutely necessary to hide an accent; 3. Get as far away as possible as quickly as possible; and 4. Have some cash to carry you over.

Pabel was an accomplished linguist (he could read and write in English as well as several other languages), had studied theology with the intent of becoming a priest, was widely read, and very interested in the indigenous culture whatever his geographical location. He had been a translator in many of the POW camps and was comfortable in conversation with Americans. He worked hard to disguise his accent, but knew it wasn’t perfect. Also, he had saved $15.00, which would be valued at about $200 in 2016. Before coming to Washington, he had sold: a carving to a guard for $5.00; his war medals; some souvenirs made by prisoners; and earned pennies for running errands for the guards. POWs were not allowed to have money and the guards who bought his souvenirs for cash and those who gave him pennies for errands were disobeying commands. Pabel was planning E-Day, which he termed Operation Vapor.

He enjoyed working on the farms and his first day in Washington the POWs were working in the fields and at lunchtime, which was the main meal of the farmer’s day, they were invited inside to eat with the family. Although very much against the rules, the housewife insisted that they come inside and eat with them. Pabel said they didn’t just eat – they dined, talked, and relaxed. The next day he was transferred to working in the cannery, a job he totally disliked. He hated being inside and unloading corn from trucks all day long. That evening he took an assessment of what he needed to complete Operation Vapor.

“I have fifteen dollars in cash

I have a road map of Illinois

I have a white sports shirt

All were tucked away in my barracks bag

There is one more thing I shall need: courage.”

He also needed some pants that didn’t say PW on them, and was able to secure a package of blue dye by telling the guard that the dye was needed for a theatrical production they were doing. The dye did cover the white PW lettering and Operation Vapor was underway. To complete the civilian look, he found a pair of shoes in need of repair in a garbage can outside the GI barracks.

The planned day of escape was September 9, but it rained so hard that his clothes were soaked, and his escape was postponed.

Pabel wanted to be free in America, and on September 10^th he traded his noon shift for the midnight shift. His thinking was that it would be a long time before they discovered him missing. Pabel said that there was a short period of time between roll call and the first shift leaving for work detail, and it was during this time that he changed clothes and made his move towards freedom.

Pabel described the camp as follows, “The camp itself is roughly rectangular in shape with tents, kitchen, etc, all on the shorter side (south side). The western side is right next to the GI barracks, while the eastern side runs right up to a patch of trees with some undergrowth of bushes, tall grass, and brush growing right up to the very edge of the fence. This is the spot I am eager to reach in my morning stroll.” A fight breaks out, and the guard encouraging it is on duty in the watchtower. Pabel relates how he lifts two strands of wire, squeezes through and falls to the ground of freedom. “Rolling over, farther away from the fence, I am now completely out of sight. Grabbing my bag, I run deeper into the woods. I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs: Free! Free! Of course I restrain myself, and after a few big jumps reach the highway which runs parallel to the south side of the camp area.”

Operation Vapor had begun. Because everything was in short supply it was considered patriotic to share rides and pick up hitchhikers. A young lady passed him by, but a farmer who hated Roosevelt stopped and picked him up. So as to offend the driver and have him quit asking questions, Pabel tried to explain Roosevelt’s position. Without any more discussion, the driver took him to Peoria and dropped him off at the train station as requested by Pabel. He was walking around looking for the bus station when he spotted a sign for shoe repair. After his shoes were repaired he had $13.20 left. Next he found the bus station and purchased the ticket to Chicago, which took half of his remaining money. Finding that he had 90 minutes left before departure he went to a diner and ordered scrambled eggs and coffee for 45 cents. He was down to $5.75, but he was free, and Operation Vapor was entering a critical phase as he prepared to leave for Chicago.

Meanwhile back at Camp Washington, U.S. Army Guard Melvin Pruss was on bus duty that morning as the driver counted POWs and said they were one short. Pruss re-counted and let his Sergeant know they were missing a POW. Since there was confusion encountered with a missing prisoner and the shift changes Pabel had made, no one knew for sure when the escapee was reported. The bus guard may have assumed that someone was ill and didn’t make the bus.

Pabel made his way to Chicago where he became a dishwasher and saved money to open a bookstore, which by the time of his capture in 1953 was quite successful. He was deported for being in the United States illegally, although his lawyer (an American Lieutenant in Sicily who took Pabel prisoner in 1943) defended him on the grounds that he was brought to the United States against his will.

Pabel returned to the United States for some months and then took his family back to Germany where they lived the remainder of their lives.

Pabel returned to Washington in 1979 to show his son and one of his daughters where he was held for a few days before his escape in September of 1945.