A
collection of stories, photos, art and information on Stalag Luft I
If you are a former Prisoner of War or a next of
kin of a POW, we invite you to sign and leave your email address so others that
come may find you. Please mention camp, compound, barracks and room numbers if
possible.
F/O Rodolph Case B-24 Pilot
8th Air Force, 8th Command 20th Wing
93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron
P.O.W. No. 2914
Shot down over Gotha, Germany on February 24, 1944.
Arrived Dulag Luft 2/25/44. Left Dulag Luft on 2/27/44 arrived Frankfurt am
Main on 2/27/44, left Frankfurt 2/29/44 arrived Stalag Luft I on March
4, 1944
TThis is Rodolph Case's homemade
POW diary. The top is made of tin (hammered out from cans received in
the Red Cross parcels) and the papers are the backs of cigarette packages.
The back of the diary is a wood block.
Red Cross map of Paris dated June 5, 1945
German money signed by friends in
Barth, dated May 12, 1945./font>
Signatures I can read
are:
Sgt. R. L. Hendrix
Sgt. Floyd B. Watts
Ralph D. ________ ?
T/Sgt. William F. Lewis
H. H. Hill, Jr.
Robert E. Edwards
Joseph S. Bochna
Raymond H. Frenk
JJohn J. Rogers
French money signed by friends in
France, dates are br>
May 14, 1945 Laon, France
Harry H. Hill, Jr. Binghamton,NY
Henry J. Hustedt San Francisco, California
Jimmy B. Schold, Jr.
Leland W. Sloan Des Moines, Iowa
William T. Barnhill, Jr Texas
Signed April 5, 1960:
D. C. Huff
L. L. Newsome
E. G. Owen
Brize Norton, England
YYorktown 60
During World War II the German
army "Wehrmacht" issued specific POW money for their prisoners of war camps.
Often it was rubberstamped on the back by the administration of the camp it
was used in. br>
The German word "Lagergeld" literally means Camp Money. The money was
denominated in Reichsmark and was issued by Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - the
high command of the German military forces.
The POW Camp Money was given out to captured officers only. Other ranks did
not receive these allowances. It could be used inside the camp to buy some
personal goods from canteens. The possession of real German currency was
strictly forbidden for POW's. The allowance for American officers was
Reichsmark 7.50 per month. I am told that they were never able to use the
money to buy anything.
English Translation :
This coupon is valid only as means of payment for POW's and may be used by
them only within the POW camps or on working assignments and redeemed and
accepted only in points of sale, which are designated for this purpose. The
exchange of this coupon into legal tender may only be carried out by the
designated cashiers of the camp administration. Contraventions, imitations
and forgeries will be punished.
Embroidered Handkerchief with
thimble used to embroider it.br>
Stalag Luft I
Room 14
Fellow Kriegies
Barth, Germany
Group 1 Squad 3
3-4-44
Names on Handkerchief
Bochna, J. S.
Bonin, W.
Hill, H. H.
Edwards, R. E.
Frenk, R. H.
Havermann, D. H.
Hunt, G. S.
Lloyd, J. E.
Miles, D. D.
Ralph, G. K.
Rogers, J. J.
Stamman, M. C.
Case, R.
PPhilips, R. J.
Stalag Luft I
a href="powwow.htm">POW - WOW newspaper
Prisoners of War - Waiting on Winning
EEdition announcing end of the war
Wooden plaque with B-24 dated July 8, 1944. Signed
by his roommates in North 1, Barracks 3, Room 14, and others./font>
Others listed on P7 Plaque
John F. Carson "Kit"
Hugo
Oklahoma
H. H. Cooke
South Bend
Indiana
Stanley Cooper
Burley
Idaho
John J. Fallon
New York
New York
Robert C. Forney
Pilot mound
Washington
Glen A. Fredenberg
Beaver Falls
New York
Horton L. Fross
Corpus Christi
Texas
Thomas F. Gannon
Dover
New Jersey
Phil Good
Ferguson
Montana
Thomas E. Harrington
Knoxville
Iowa
Milton A. Henderson
Nehalem
Oregon
Ernest R. Jenkins
Charleston
South Carolina
Miles R. League
Greenville
South Carolina
Ward B. Lewis
Kiowa Kansas
E. Warren Lundgren
Warren Minnesota
Fred Malen
Cleveland
Ohio
John J. McTeague
Baltimore
Maryland
Harry C. Meyer
Cliffside Park
New Jersey
Allen R. Power
Bridgeport
Connecticut
Fred J. Rector
Greer
South Carolina
William H. Ritzema
Greenville
Michigan
Clayton R. Styles
Dallas
Texas
John E. Van Nortwick
Buffalo
New York
&
POW camp utensils
Notice the Missing in Action stamped on his foot locker
Top of foot locker
Elegantes POW cigarettes
Air Medal
New Testament dated December 2, 1944/font>
Sticker inside reads:
CCooperating with the War Prisoners' Aid of the Young Men's Christian
Association and the Commission on Chaplaincy Aid for Prisoners of War (World
Council of Churches) 11, Avenue de Champel, Geneva, Switzerland, the
American Bible Society forwards this New Testament to you with the prayers
and good wishes of the Churches of the United States.
Flight 42-E Book/font>
Strategic Air Command Photo
Souvenirs from Germany
Officer's hat from Stalag Luft I
Officer's dagger from Stalag Luft I
F/O RodolRodolph
Case B-24 Bomber Crew
Pilot Rodolph Case
Co-Pilot R. D. Allison
Navigator R. E. Jakobe
Bombardier J.J. Taylor
Radio Operator C.W.
Shepherd
Ball Gunner - ____ Brown
Waist Gunner - F.M. Conover
Engineer
Tail Gunner
- J.
L. Altizer
Knowing my oldest brother was dying, I sat looking out the window of
the airplane in flight at the majesty and wonderment of the world below. As
I watched the beauty of the changing clouds I wondered what my memories
would be, what description did I have in my minds eye of him. The beauty I
saw brought the following thoughts to mind so I jotted them down for later
recollection and the opportunity to share my thoughts with someone else.
Death for my brother was eminent but he is not forgotten as his equation is
described in the following words I call. "Above the clouds".
Larry Case
Above the Clouds
I see the majesty of the clouds,
As the setting sun
Breathes life into them.
How gentle they seem,
And so soft.
How delicious the rain they bring
On a summer eve.
How vast this beauty,
And endless as time.
I did not know him well
As a youth.
But he was always there,
His presence as majestic
As the clouds,
Always gentle,
Always soft.
How delicious to know him
On my summers eve of life.
How vast the beauty of his being
And endless as time.
I would ride upon his shoulders,
My gallant steed,
Across fields and pastures,
To an old cabin
On a wooded hill.
And sit upon nail kegs
Listening to the voices
Of my brothers
And their friends.
Music to my youthful ears.
I heard the rush of the wind
Oer the eagles wings,
As he soared among the clouds.
I heard the whippoorwills,
Late on a yellow summers eve.
I smelled the freshness
Of the coming rain,
And felt the warmth of earth
On bare feet.
I saw his face in the clouds
And watched the evening shadows
Grow long.
So these memories of youth,
Remind me of him,
Even when I did not know him well.
And yet, only a moment
With him,
One touch,
By him,
One word,
From him,
In a short span of time
Has brought to focus,
All these things.
But the wind is quiet now,
For the eagle has landed.
I can still hear the whippoorwills
Late on a yellow summers eve.
I can still smell the freshness
Of the coming rain.
I can still feel the warmth of earth
On bare feet.
I can still see his face
In the clouds.
I watch now,
As the sun sets red
In the distance,
His presence still
As close as yesterday,
Always.
Funny,
I seem to know him well.
