I rise today to honor a group of Americans who made a large contribution to the Allied victory in Europe while also enduring more than their fair share of personal suffering and sacrifice: the brave men who were prisoners of war.
I believe it is appropriate to commemorate our World War II POWs by describing one incident from the war that is emblematic of the unique service rendered by those special people. This is the story of an 86‑day, 488‑mile forced march that commenced at a POW camp known as Stalag Luft IV, near Grosstychew, Poland, on February 6, 1945, and ended in Halle, Germany, on April 26, 1945. The ordeal of 9,500 men, most of whom were U.S. Army Air Force bomber command noncommissioned officers, who suffered through incredible hardships on the march yet survived, stands as an everlasting testimonial to the triumph of the American spirit over immeasurable adversity and of the indomitable ability of camaraderie, teamwork, and fortitude to overcome brutality, horrible conditions, and human suffering.
Bomber crews shot down over Axis countries often went through terrifying experiences even before being confined in concentration camps. Flying through withering flak, while also having to fight off enemy fighters, the bomber crews routinely saw other aircraft in formations blown to bits or turned into fiery coffins. Those who were taken POW had to endure their own planes being shot down or otherwise damaged sufficiently to cause the crews to bail out. Often crewmates — close friends — did not make it out of the burning aircraft. Those lucky enough to see their parachutes open had to then go through a perilous descent amid flak and gunfire from the ground.
Many crews were then captured by incensed civilians who had seen their property destroyed or had loved ones killed or maimed by Allied bombs. Those civilians at time would beat, spit upon, or even try to lynch the captured crews. And in the case of Stalag Luft IV, once the POW’s had arrived at the railroad station near the camp, though exhausted, unfed, and often wounded, many were forced to run the 2 miles to the camp at the point of bayonets. Those who dropped behind were either bayonetted or bitten on the legs by police dogs. And all that was just the prelude to their incarceration, where they were underfed, overcrowded, and often maltreated.
In February 1945, the Soviet offensive was rapidly pushing toward Stalag Luft IV. The German high command determined that it was necessary that the POWs be evacuated and moved into Germany. But by that stage of the war, German materiel was at a premium, and neither sufficient railcars nor trucks were available to move prisoners. Therefore, the decision was made to move the Allied prisoners by foot in forced road march.
The 86‑day march was by all accounts savage. Men who for months, and in some cases years, had been denied proper nutrition, personal hygiene, medical care, were forced to do something that would be difficult for well‑nourished, healthy, and appropriately trained infantry soldiers to accomplish.
—U.S. Senator John Warner
Proceedings and Debates of 104th Congress
May 8, 1995