Zeddie P. Barron Letters to Wife, May 1945 07.0077 - Box 1, Folder 023
- Abstract Or Scope
-
Barron goes to Nice for multiple days on a pass and describes the city, people, and international presence that he sees. He reacts to news of Hitler's death and Germany's surrender. He is opposed to the continuation of the non-fraternization policy now that the war is over. He believes only the Nazi leaders should be punished. Censorship is lifted and Barron describes his combat experiences in his letter of May 23rd. He departed from Southampton for Normandy via a Liberty Ship on D+2, but his landing was delayed a day because the area was not secure. He went ashore on D+3 and made his way to Sainte-Mere-Eglise. He describes seeing wounded soldiers in the hospital there, which he says was his first instance of "feeling sick." As he moved through France he was relatively safe during the day but was threatened at night by strafing German aircraft. In one bombing 13 men were lost, while another saw 113 casualties, both military and civilian. At Soissons he describes a German plane, nicknamed "Bed Check Charlie", which strafed every night. He describes the "incident" which he referred to in January that made him hate the Germans - after hiding from an artillery barrage in Liege, he helped pull survivors from a destroyed building and found the body of a deceased three-month-old child.
- Collection Context