My father was shot down near Bergamo, Italy on Oct. 12, 1944. He was badly wounded. His after action report was that he was presumed dead. After hospitalization, he was in Stalag Luft 18A in Austria in December of 1944 before eventually ending up in Stalag Luft 1 in January of 45 where he was liberated by the Russians on May 1, 1945. The Boston Globe report in February of 1945 a short story about my father running into a friend from his hometown of Waltham, MA while in Austria POW transit camp. His friend's letters got through to his family; no letter my father ever sent made it through. As such, his hometown friend was the first person to confirm he was alive. However, his parents had learned that my father was the subject of a Christmas time propaganda broadcast making the most of his capture and care. He was an officer, had been badly wounded, and the radio chatter made clear he was well taken care of in large part because his mother's maiden name (Elsie Gephardt) was German; she was born in Germany, emigrated @1909.
