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. Thorgren IsiFreed FromGerman CampI F Ir1S Sgt. Ernest Thorgren, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Thorgren, t 50ti Oak street, Valparaiso, was * among a group of 15,000 Allied -prisoners of the Germans who were * released last week by American forces under Gen. George S. Pat- t ton's 3rd Army. iThe men were reached in a pine .forest south of Braunau, Austria,i ,to where they had been marched j earlier in a 150-mile trek from Krems, Austria, on the Russian \ | front. ;Among the 15.000 were 4.100 Am- , erican prisoners of war—ail flying personnel. Most ot the Americans i had been prisoneis more than two!, years after being shot down in] air actions. 1While otner American soldiers] freed recently have been found in, prisoner barracks, this group of 4.100 U. S. flyers had been abandoned, enthelv Without food orshelter, in the snow and freezingcold of a wildernesiThe men had stolen enough axes to start work on rude log huts)for some comfort, but most olthem said they had been so cold they were unable to sleep at am time during the last four days and nights. They lived on foraged food and many of them went without food for 4s or more hours.S Sgt. Thorgren was shot down during a Dorrbei raid over Germany on Jan. 5, 1944. He was achief armor waist gunner and aerial photographer on a Flying Fortress. In »he raid of 1,000 planes, on that date, which blasted German Industrial plants, oo American craft were lost.Before enlisting in the service in October, 1942, Sgt. Thorgren was employed as an apprentice tool and dye maker by the McGill Manufacturing company. He was graduated irom Valparaiso high lt;hool and attended Indiana State college tit Terre Haute for three yum.
Newspaper Details
Valparaiso Vidette Messenger
Valparaiso, Indiana, US
Mon, May 07, 1945
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Porter C.
IN, USA 08 Jul 2019
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