Vernon E. Anderson
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Vernon E. Anderson
Mr. Anderson entered the Army on October 18, 1943. An infantry training injury prevented him from participating in D-Day landings at Normandy but he landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy, on July 11, 1944.
He joined the 134th Infantry Regiment, of the 35th Division, on July 20, in time for the Battle of St. Lo where the regiment received a Presidential Unit Citation.
He witnessed a 2,000-plane raid by the Americans on July 26. During the last two weeks of July, the 134th Regiment suffered 574 casualties, including 86 killed in action.
In his own words: "I was with the 35th Division 134 Regiment Co...I was captured around Metz, France. Another town that I remember is Jallaucourt near Fort De Germany. I was captured at 1:00 o'clock on the morning of September 28, 1944. When I was captured, I was bayoneted in the right thumb and also in the stomach. The Germans put me in a field hospital for a while then I was put in a concentration camp. They put me with Polish and Jews, which was supposedly a mistake. They had the gas chambers and ovens and also guillotines. The name of the camp was Oberndoft. I stayed there a few days then they sent me to Stalog 12A, in Seven A, but a lot of my time was in Munich, Germany, in a schoolhouse. During one stay I was guarded by Doberman Pinscher dogs and German police dogs. I had my heels torn off my shoes and then overcoat torn off."
"They would take us into Munich on work detail. We were ordered to fill shell craters and dig bodies out of bombed-out buildings. While digging out one building, a steel beam fell on me and pinned me under it. I hurt my back and both legs at that time. I was put on a stretcher and brought back to a hospital. I weighed 240 pounds when I went overseas. I got out of prison camp at 125 pounds. After being liberated by the 45th Division, we were flown back to Camp Lucky Strike in France. I was put on the same troop ship I went over in, the USS Lajune. During my seven months of captivity, I had only two baths. We had quarter-inch-long lice."
"When I was interrogated I was beaten by the young S.S. Hitler youth. I never did get a Purple Heart for my wounds I received while in the hands of the Germans. I am now crippled up with my knees and also my back, of which some is service connected."
"I had an assistant BAR gunner when I got captured. He was in the foxhole with me. If I remember right his last name was Wall. I remember the Germans shot down in the foxhole when they took me prisoner and I never have found out if he ever survived."
"I remember my Sergeant, Bob Fowler, and Lt. Fran Greenlief, most of all the people on the front line. I remember when Sergeant Bob Fowler got hit, and I also remember Bloody Sunday, which was the 2000 plane bombing raid. I came in as a replacement at Emily, France. One other person I remember is Lt. Bill Brodbeck, who was replaced by Lt. Fran Greenlief. I remember them teaching me some of the battlefield tricks. I guess the war didn't do us any good for all the battle scars. A person I remember from headquarters is Scilo Johnson."
"I was honorably discharged December 5, 1945. Currently I am still active in a local Chapter of the Ex POW's and I am the commander of the Hibbing Chapter."
"In the past I never really talked much of the war, to my children or to other people, now that they are getting older, they are more interested and ask me many questions about my war experiences. This past Christmas my daughter wrote me a poem of some of her feelings she had growing up a child of a POW. This poem brought tears to my eyes when I read it. I now know my children understand some of the things I went through as a POW."
Christmas Thoughts
It’s gift giving time again and with you I
don’t know where to start...So this year
I decided you will receive a gift right from
My Heart…
As a child I was raised to be an adult who
is Strong…. I have YOU and MOM to
thank, because you have always taught
me right from wrong…
There are times in my life where I felt we
were far apart… Now I have so many
things to tell you I don’t know where to
start...
Your life as a POW has caused both pain
and pride in my mind... At first it was the
pain we saw a very difficult kind...
We all survived the pain, but mostly it
was YOU... Who found peace with the
past and knew what you wanted to do…
It is your decisions of your future where
the pride begins to sing… How you have
taken the past and turned it into a very
positive thing…
The time you spend to teach others of the
events of your past… Is something that
will live on…they will forever last…
Your experiences you have shared have
helped more than just a few... It’s some-
thing NO ONE else can speak of because
is all about YOU…
I look back now and see all the strain…
And only wish…I could have helped you
more get though some of the pain…
The past is the past and now the memories
of the future will hold… And I’m so happy
Dad… To be a part of your very special
mold…
These words I’ve just written are only
just a few… I’ve wanted to tell you for a
long time, but mostly Dad I want you to
know of the pride I have in you and how
much
I LOVE YOU…
MERRY CHRISTMAS DAD
Thank you for EVERYTHING…
Editors note: Mr. Anderson was awarded and decorated with the Purple Heart on August 22, 1999.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, page 22.
