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Leaving Graham behind, the guards pushed the surviving POWs onward. Neither the guards, nor the local police, made an attempt to apprehend Länger. Indeed, the police chief, Heinrich Rommel, was warned by the island’s commandant not to intercede. The shooter was still at large and it was clear the guard detail was not going to offer much in the way of protection. The column continued back east, headed toward the sports field with Länger stalking them, waiting for another opportunity. Near the sportsfield the senior guard, Feldwebel Johann Joseph Schmitz, halted the column for a short rest. The airmen huddled together nervously. This was Länger’s opportunity. The guards stood in a circle around the airmen. Länger pushed through this cordon and once again approached the Americans and shot five of them, a sixth ran to a nearby home. He banged on the door hoping to find refuge, but the occupants were equally afraid and refused to intervene. The airman was gunned down where he stood. Once again, the guard failed to intervene. The time was now 1630 local. The 486th Bomb Group had just landed the last aircraft sortied this day. Now that the entire crew had been murdered the island commander insisted that the island's doctor amend the death certificates to read "death through blunt trauma" instead of "death by gun shot to the head." The doctor protested, but to know avail. The men of the guard detail were also required to sign affidavits declaring that the airmen were beat to death by civilians. This evidence would be critical for winning convictions during War Crimes Tribunals after the war in Landsberg, Germany, regarding this case. LT Ingerson was eventually sent to STALAG LUFT III, near Sagan in southern Silesia. The POW camp was sectioned by nationality, and LT Ingerson found himself bunking with the British, which included Canadians, and members of the American Eagle Squadron. The Russian advance from the East compelled to evacuate the camp. On 27 January 1945, The Germans ordered an immediate evacuation of the camp after dinner. The POWs were given a ration of food, and they took what possessions they had and began their long march deeper into Germany about midnight. Throughout the night the POWs would march for 50 minutes and allowed to rest for 10. It was bitterly cold, and snow, turning to sleet, came that night. The POWs were eventually put aboard a train at Spremburg. They were packed in tightly as the train headed to Nürnberg. Some POWs would be interned there, while others, including LT Ingerson, were sent on towards München (Munich). LT Ingerson's group made three stops since leaving Sagan, and at one point the column of POWs came under fire by RAF fighters, killing many POWs. To counter this threat, the men painted a red cross on a sheet and held it aloft for identification. While the trains were stopped at marshalling yards the Prisoners could hear allied bombing nearby. It made for some tense moments. SGT Kazmer Rachak was sent to STALAG LUFT IV near Groß Tychow on the Baltic coast. To hear of his internment, it seemed Kamzer was on a big adventure. Good with his hands, he embroidered a GI handkerchief with the insignia of the 8th Air Force, a B17 and the names of his crewmates. He also managed to cobble together a radio from parts he had gathered at the camp. He harbored no ill will toward his captors in spite of the abysmal conditions at the camp, and near starvation diet. |