John Hansen

Walking Home from Germany John Hansen

During World War II, steady daylight bombing by the Americans was crucial in defeating the German military; however, it came at a significant cost. In the European Theater alone, nearly 20,000 airmen were killed, 8,400 were wounded, and 35,000 were missing or captured. Thirty-two percent of all bomber crews were lost. Those who were captured were interned at prisoner of war camps spread across Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and East Prussia. Life in the camps was not easy, but what waited for most after the camp was far worse. With the Russians advancing from the east, the German government put hundreds of thousands of prisoners on the march during the winter of 1945. Sleeping in barns or open fields and living on meager rations, the men marched hundreds of miles back and forth across Germany. Sickness, fear, and starvation stripped them of all pride and dignity, and the experience would affect most for the rest of their lives. Robert Staton was shot down and captured on May 27, 1944. After spending nearly two months in a German hospital due to injuries, he was sent to Stalag Luft IV in northern Poland. He marched out of the camp on February 6, 1945 and remained on the road until May 2. Walking Home from Germany is his story.