[A 4-page letter written by Ralph Kramer to Rudy Menchl on June 23, 1945] Hello Rudy - Finally managed to get back home again. It’s like coming back into a new life once again, but I’m gradually catching up to time. Being out of circulation for awhile doesn’t improve your up to the date facts any, I’ll say that much. I know you’d like to hear a little bit of my story for there are plenty of things I’d like to ask you, well here goes - Very few minutes after landing on the ground the Jerries had me. My back and legs were sort of numb from the explosion in the bomb bay & radio room so I couldn’t walk, add this to being knocked out upon hitting the ground and you can see why I was taken. Bill & Harry were both in the same fix. Harry from some 20MMs in the knees, leg, arm and head. He was the hardest hit; Bill was also shot up a bit, he also hit the horizontal fin for we had to jump from the waist window. Some 20’s had jammed the waist door shut, so Tex and I got rid of the right waist gun so we could get out. They had us together in a hospital in Verona for a couple of days and then put us on a train to Germany. The sweat box at Frankfurt was our destination, Dulag Luft, you may have heard of it. There Harry was taken out and sent to the hospital but Bill & myself stayed together. From there we were shipped to Krems, Austria {Stalag XVII B) where it seemed as tho we spent a lifetime. The latter part of March 1945, the Russians began to make it pretty hot for the Jerries where we were, so they evacuated camp the 8th of April and marched us westward towards out lines. It wasn’t all a Sunday School picnic while we were on the road. Outside of Braunau, Austria while laying in a wooded sector, our camp, our own boys, managed to get back into American hands again. From then on, May the 3rd, is the day it was homeward bound. It’s still pretty hard to realize it is all over and I’m back again, for good I hope. How did you come through it all, OK I hope? I had a letter from Alderson and George they are both well. I was in hopes that we could all get together again, but it’ll have to wait until the whole mess is over. I don’t know what they intend doing with me July 31st. I report in to Atlantic City, N.J. where I’ll get the lowdown. I’d like to hear from all the boys again. Write when you have the chance. Sincerely, Ralph
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