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(Hitler's Brutalism Very Realistic |j • * . To Pfc. Nathan Who Left Home In Belgium When Germans Invaded jBy SGT. C. D. SHOKES.FREEING from Belgium to ^ Spain always just a few days ahead of the Germans, with almost daily strafings by German planes over roads congested with refugees and soldiers, was a part of the exciting days of the beginning of the war for Pfc. Henry C. Nathan, now a foreign area and language aspirant at the University of Nebraska college of agriculture's STAR uni, and who was in Antwerp, Belgium, the day the Germans invaded that small country.i.ds.edeNathan cams to Iris home in Antwerp late from work early in the morning of May 10, 1940, andnstreriny Army CallThe very Jafesl in wartime apparel was displayed for more than 50 Lincoln girls and women. who were guests of the WACs at the Lincoln cir base Thursday night following the parade Jn the city. Photo shows some of the visitors inspecting various types of unf/orins issued fo members of the women's array corps. (Photo By A. A. F. Training Command)Women1* e’,ubt committee: Mri. Ethel Long, Mr*. Maude Peters, Luvicy M. Hill, Mr*. GaylordMadden.Service clubs committee: MaxMeyer, Dr. Laurence E. Finney.Harold Gillette, Fred Grolh.Mr*. Harry A. Scot! will head the special events committee, and Magnus X. Kriutoffersen, workingwith the executive committee, is In charge of the distribution committee.Need 652 Volunteers.Nebraska so far has furnished only 48 of their 700 volunteersheard the noise of a large group of airplanes overhead. A few moments later, he hoard the sound of bursting bombs. Hurrying home, he turned on the radio, and heard repeated about every five minutes in Flemish and French the news that Germany had invaded Belgium, and that each soldier was ordered to report to his unit. At 10 o'clock the king spoke, announcing the Germans’ duplication of 1914; and in the afternoon, Nathan was an eyewitness to the entrance of French troops in motorized units rushing in to meet the enemy. That afternoon he Was also an eye witness to the first German air attack on Antwerp’s Schelde river tunnel, through which the French soldiers were pouring into the city. Twenty Stukas dropped about five or six bombs in an attempt to destroy the tunnel. The results were surprising; they all missed com-|gpigggg*... so the great need for morewomen can easily be seen.“We need many, many more prospects,” Lt. Jacquart declared. By joining the WACs women will be contributing their utmost to the winning of the war. They will be releasing soldiers for actual fighting, and also postponing the drafting of so many fathers/*More details as to pay, jobs available, and all other phases of the WAC program may be obtained at the WAG recruiting office, 116 North Thirteenth streetplctely, falling in the river, Nathan recalled. iHigh Tension Before Invasion.Nathan remembers well the period of high tension which mounted about five days before the Germans invaded the Lowlands. Holland suspended her railroad service to Germany. Then the German government gave assurances to Holland that an attack was not imminent, and the rail service was resumed. The tension lightened, and throughout Belgium, too, the thought of invasion was put aside. Then the Germans came.Three days later Nathan leftAntwerp for the coast, on his way for France. The Belgium government had told all young men not in the army to quit Belgium by any possible means, since it could no longerr guarantee their safety. On his way to the Coast, his ear was in a group of about 20 others. Near one town, they had to travel near . railroad bridge which had suddenly become the target of German planes. The first two bombs missed the bridge, Nathan related, and the first five cars with their occupants were blown to bits.The roads to France were choked with civilians fleeing to France, and French and English soldiers . trying to get to the front. Movement was slow, and automobiles in the group with Nathan were lucky tu be able to make four miles in an hour. Gasoline was impossible to obtain, and many cars had to be abandoned, he said. Nathan himself was once offered 5700 (20,000 francs) for the approximately 200 mile trip to safety.Arrive In Dunkerque.Each day brought German planes si»d more strafing. The only thing to do was to drive into the road ditches or among trees, to avoid being hit, Nathan explained. Finally, Nathan arrived in Dunkerque, still about three days ahead of the advancing Germans. No sooner had he gotten there than the civilian evacuation of the town was begun, and so he set out for Angers, the headquarters of the Polish mission which was organizing the Polish legion to carry on the war. Nathan volunteered his services, and was told to report at Bordeaux! Arriving at Bordeaux, he was told that there was not enough equipment for the many pnplicants, and was advised to tult;e a war industry job. He worked there as a machinist and interpreter for about three weeks, when France surrendered, and Nathan knew it was time to get out.Spain offered the only haven, but there was no gasoline and no trains, he added. One evening he met several French soldiers, who offered to get him some gas-olfne from a wrecked bomber. With this gas Nathan was able to reach the border of occupied France, where he stayed with the mayor of a small town until news came that the Germans were coming and that all available housing facilities would be needed. The only road to Spain led to a mountain pass river, the bridge over which had been destroyed during the civil war in Spain, and which had not yet been repaired. Exchanging his car for a mule and placing his father on the mule, he walked to the Spanish border, where he was admitted after showing his Polish passport. Nathan, a Danzig citizen then, is sure that the fact that Poland was the first government to recognize the Franco government had a lot to do with it.After three weeks in Madrid he obtained a visa to Cuba,, only to find it was not valid upon arrival in Havana, where he spent three months in an immigration camp. He was released when he was promised an American visa, and January of 1941 found him in. New York. He entered the American army December, 1942, a volunteer for the ski troops, and recently became a U. S. citizen.Golden UJeddirigsMr. and Mrs. Fred J- Horn, formerly of Hampton, Nebraska, celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on October 19, byMR. AND MRS. HORNentertaining at a family dinner at their home, 5832 Fremont street, Lincoln.Those present included Mr. Horn’s brother. Dr. and Mrs. M. H. Horn,and their two sons, Chas. M. and wife and DeVerre J. and wife.Mr. and Mrs. Horn were married on October 19, 1893, at Aurora, Neb., by Judge Stark. They lived in Hamilton county until 1923, at which time they moved to Lincoln, where they have resided fiince.
Newspaper Details
Lincoln Nebraska State Journal
Lincoln, Nebraska, US
Sun, Oct 31, 1943
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 21 Sep 2018
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