April 30, 1945 - Coffee and Doughnuts
The 14th Armored Division of the Third Army had finally arrived at Stalag Luft VIIA near Moosburg. With the camp now under American control, Gerard Kelleher and David Yemen had only to wait to be evacuated.
In the book In Enemy Hands: Canadian Prisoners of War 1939-1945 by Daniel G. Dancocks, a prisoner described, “But we were worse off now, under the Americans, than we were before. Because we were getting a little bit of rations from the Germans before we were liberated. But once we were liberated, we lost that, and the Americans didn’t have anything to feed us.”
American airman Bill Ethridge described some positive events for the day: "There has been a steady parade of American Jeeps and Army officers in and out of camp ostensibly for the purpose of organizing our evacuation. We were ordered not to leave the camp and to behave like gentlemen while we were waiting to leave. This was one order almost totally ignored, but made easier by the stream of food and clothing that continued to arrive. The center of attraction today was two Red Cross girls who arrived about noon with a ton of doughnuts and plenty of good coffee."
In the book In Enemy Hands: Canadian Prisoners of War 1939-1945 by Daniel G. Dancocks, a prisoner described, “But we were worse off now, under the Americans, than we were before. Because we were getting a little bit of rations from the Germans before we were liberated. But once we were liberated, we lost that, and the Americans didn’t have anything to feed us.”
American airman Bill Ethridge described some positive events for the day: "There has been a steady parade of American Jeeps and Army officers in and out of camp ostensibly for the purpose of organizing our evacuation. We were ordered not to leave the camp and to behave like gentlemen while we were waiting to leave. This was one order almost totally ignored, but made easier by the stream of food and clothing that continued to arrive. The center of attraction today was two Red Cross girls who arrived about noon with a ton of doughnuts and plenty of good coffee."
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