Despite his time as a POW, Elwin Diehl remains proud of his military service.
Elwin Diehl remembers the tough times from WWII
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Despite his time as a POW, Elwin Diehl remains proud of his military service. |
An Iowa farm boy, Elwin Diehl of Red Oak joined the National Guard while he was still in high school. He explains simply that in the late 1930s, that was the thing to do.
“Hitler was shaking his antlers all around,” Elwin says. “It looked like the Germans were going to take over the whole world.”
Little did Elwin and his classmates know what path their patriotism would take. Elwin was a member of the famed 34th “Red Bull” Division which saw more combat than any other division (on both sides) during World War II.
“We got in on the beginning and stayed till the end,” Elwin points out.
“The British fought the Germans long before we did,” he explains. “So I have a lot of respect for the British.”
Elwin graduated from Red Oak High School in 1939. His National Guard unit was activated or “federalized” on Feb. 10, 1041. Elwin remembers the “parade” through the street as the soldiers left for training. Originally scheduled for one year of training, Company M’s orders changed right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The regiment shipped out overseas in February 1942. Elwin did not get back home until July 1945.
When Company M was overrun in Faid Pass, Elwin and his fellow soldiers became POWs. They remained in captivity for 26 months, most of that time in Germany. Many former POWs remain silent about those times, but Elwin share some memories.
“I spent most of my time in Stalag 3B,” Elwin recalls. Stalag 7B served as a clearinghouse or staging area. All POWs came through 7B, then were transferred to other prison camps. Elwin remembers that a large contingent of Russian POWs were in barracks next to the Americans.
How did the soldiers keep up morale as they waited for the war and their captivity to end?
“We played a lot of cards. I got to be a pretty good bridge player.”
To keep in touch with the world outside their prison camp, the POWs fashioned a crystal radio, which they hid under a bunk. They wanted to hear accurate news about the war, not the German propaganda.
“We could hear the BBC broadcast,” Elwin recalls. “One man would listen, take notes, and then tell the rest of us.”
POWs were supposed to be fed just as regular troops were, but Elwin points out that German soldiers could not have survived on what the Germans fed their POWs.
“They didn’t hardly feed us. They were losing the war and didn’t have enough to feed their own soldiers. They fed us broccoli just about all the time. Even the smell of it today makes me nauseous.”
In April 1945 the German POW camp was liberated by the Russians. Elwin remembers the day.
“They drove the tanks right through the barbed wire,” he explains. “Of course, all the Germans left. The Russians were our friends so it was OK. The lined us up and had us sign in, but I never signed in. I just kept moving back to the end of the line. I had suspicions that the Russians were going to hold us for ransom. They were having us sign in so they could get paid for us.
“They would let the Americans bring in food for us, but they made them leave with empty trucks. We couldn’t go with them. But the GIs would park their trucks outside the camp and when the Russians weren’t looking, we’d sneak out and join the GIs. That’s how I got out. I escaped from the Russians.”
Once back home, Elwin had to re-adjust to civilian life.
“When I first left (for service), I was lonesome for family,” he explains. “But I got over that in time. When I got home and was around family, I was lonesome for people I knew. I’d been gone so long that family seemed like strangers.”
Another adjustment was the lack of guards.
“Military bases have guards everywhere. I came home and rented a farm and there was nothing. That bothered me at first. No one’s guarding me! But after awhile, I got over that.”
Upon his return from World War II, Elwin married Carolyn Erickson and they had one daughter, Connie McCormick, who now lives in Kentucky. Carolyn is deceased.
After farming for a few years, Elwin changed careers.
“I went back to school and learned telegraph. Then I hired on with the railroad (Burlington Northern) and worked for the railroad for 30-some years.”
For many years, Elwin organized the Company M annual reunions and still keeps in touch with the few remaining members of the company. Often he attended national POW gatherings.
He recently moved to an assisted living facility in Red Oak where he keeps abreast of the national and world news through television, radio, and Internet, and enjoys reading about the World War II time period and its people.