6 million troops began the ritual out-of demobilization. They took throughout the five months, and many GIs complained concerning the slowness of one’s procedure.

[Editor’s Note: William W. Williams III is actually sailing as a person in brand new Navy Equipped Guard. Equipped Protect systems were created in the early times of World Battle II to try to promote protective firepower so you’re able to provider vessels traveling inside convoy or alone. The fresh new vessels and males of provider marine was basically what transmitted the battle materiel, offers, equipment and even soldiers wanted to fight and you may win the battle.

The retailer Aquatic sustained an effective casualty rates higher than every other department of your military, shedding 9,300 boys. All of the loss occurred in 1942. The us Navy Armed Shield (USNAG) have been U.S. Navy-signed up weapon crews (Gunner’s Friends, Coxswains and you can Boatswains, Radiomen, Signalmen, Pharmacist’s Friends and, into the termination of the war, radarmen helping in the water into merchant ships.

I happened to be one of 24 “rescued” by German seaplanes (the remainder staff drifted, rowed and you can sailed for nearly three days, landed inside the Norway, and you can joined you in Milag-Marlag Nord much later on

New convoy subsequently destroyed twenty-four of their 35 boats into the a beneficial week of daylight symptoms because of the German U-ships and aircraft, in addition to Carlton are one particular lost.]

I who were acquired arrived inside Kirknes, Norway, and you will was incarcerated during the Stalag 322, a go camping to possess dissident Norwegian schoolteachers. I happened to be offered your dog mark hammered out-of a good tin is also for the amount: , my identity for your day-We have they!

Into the a beneficial German luggage ship i achieved Oslo, Norway. Into the a much bigger and you may less boat i concerned Aarlborg, Denmark, by teach so you’re able to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Because the we had been the initial Us americans to-be caught, there was in fact zero American camps at the time, we were brought to Milag-Marlag Nord, into the Tarmstedt, a short way away from Bremen, a beneficial stalag to own United kingdom Navy prisoners.

New vessels in the Carlton’s convoy was proceeding under a near Uk and United states naval escort however, was indeed left unprotected and then strewn just after layer cruiser pushes withdrew so you can intercept a good Italian language raiding flotilla

Non-commissioned officers were not expected to works, and i may have stayed there throughout the conflict, but I wished to eliminate. Very, I replaced identity which have an united kingdom seaman who was being forced to be hired. For the April 1943, posing as the Henry Flower of England, I passed instruct to help you Charlottenhof, Obersilesia, to work well with a little gang of inmates repairing an irrigation canal.

5 days later on, other prisoner and i stepped from the occupations. I thought we had everything structured, besides we don’t learn about the fresh recording animals on the next village. They in the near future located all of us, and now we surrendered and you can was sdorf.

A short while after, I became entitled so you can head office, presented with my personal new dog-mark (), and you can sentenced so you can five days solitary confinement on the bread and you will liquids to have escaping and you will trying to mistake my personal type “rescuers.” I never ever discovered how they located the fresh new option from inside the term.

At that time (erican Armed forces sergeant and i also were truly the only Us citizens in 8B. While the we had been non-British, we had been situated in substance ten which have prisoners out of Asia, Australia, The latest Zealand, North Ireland, Greece and you may Canada. The new Canadians was basically regarding the Black See Department together with become captured in the hit a brick wall getting at Dieppe, France. On account of activities nearby the bring, these people were forced to don handcuffs day and night.

[Editor’s notice: Because the just sailor into the camp Bill are affectionately considering the moniker “Seaweed,” hence resided that have him for the rest of his weeks and you will was inscribed toward their gravestone.]