The Horrors of War
(HARRY's NOTE - we have all read in our KTB Magazine or other magazines, books etc. of war patrols of ships, submarines, air attacks, ground campaigns and so on. They make exciting reading to those of us who never knew combat but as WERNER points out in this letter, there was a much more real side to combat. At times, his memory won't let him remember all details.)
"I got into the Navy (the Kriegsmarine) in 1940. After basic training in Sassnitz (Ruegen) I had some more schooling in KielWiek, MOT Course #1. After that I was commanded to the Kustenschutzflotille Ostland, to Gotenhafen. We advanced slowly up the coast to Reval. I was promoted to Maschinengejreiter and was awarded the Minensuchabzeichen (the Mine-Sweeper badge). In October 1942 1 was promoted to Maschinenobergefteiter. Then in the spring of 1943 1 was sent to Kiel for Maschinenmatten-Schule (Petty Officer school).
- "You tried to pull somebody out and had nothing but the arm in your
hands -- no body!" Or you tried to free a head and then noticed there
was no body attached to the head anymore.
And now it becomes foggy, very foggy, and I'll tell you exactly why. At that time the city of Kiel, just as other northern cities in Germany, got bombed almost every night, and we young guys were piped out of our bunks many of nights and early mornings, to help 'CLEAN-UP'. Well, Harry, we cleaned up all right...it was horrible!
I can still hear the screams for help and the screams of pains. You tried to pull somebody out and had nothing but the arm in your hands -nobody!!! Or you tried to free a head and then noticed, there was no body attached to the head anymore. Harry, I cannot go into any more details because it still upsets me, even after all this time, very much. And every time I only think about Kiel, I see arms and heads and other parts of human bodies without being attached to bodies anymore and horrible SCREAMS!"
(HARRY's NOTE - there was more to WERNER's letter, but this serves to bring us back to the reality that war is not always as 'glamorous' as the movies, books and magazines try to show it.)
More: The Way It Was
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© Copyright 1999 by Harry Cooper, Sharkhunters International, Inc.
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