One Man's War:
Glenn Myers' Story of World War II
Story and Links by Karin Shilling
I was a member of Company A, 18th infantry, 1st Division during WWII. We went to Africa first, and then we traveled by boat to Sicily. The ride was rough across the Mediterranean Sea; the ship would go up and down with a loud pop. We were only in Sicily for seven days when I had a hunk taken out of my leg by shrapnel. I was transported to the field hospital where I stayed until I recovered.
Then they sent me to England where we waited in the boats in the English Channel at Omaha Beach. That was June 6, 1944, now known as D-Day. They said that it would be suicide for us to go on inland to France, but it would have been even more dangerous to stay where we were. The Germans were ready for us though. They had zeroed in on us with mortars, big guns, and mines. My division was the second wave, so we came in as soon as the first wave hit the beach. I passed by a young kid whose body was almost cut in two by a mine. God helped me get through this minefield. He saved my life.
On the third day we were on a squad scouting patrol through the H-shaped hedgerows and ditches. We didn't realize it but the Germans had machine guns pointed at us on one side, and were ready with hand grenades on the other. My squad leader raised up to look and they hit him with a grenade in the shoulder. Last I heard he was still living. That is where they captured us, and our lives as prisoners of war (POWs) began.
We started our walk through France with the Germans. Some of the Allied planes had been shot down nearby. We were mistaken for the pilots by a group of German soldiers. Since a new order had been given that they were not to take anymore prisoners, they wanted to shoot us. Luckily, the guard saved us by saying that we were captured before the order was given. That was another time that God really protected us.
The guard took us on to a POW camp in France where we were given some kind soup with greens and a small amount of meat and bones in it. The men would fight over it like pigs fighting for slop. Some of the men were already getting really thin from lack of food. From there they moved us to a different camp by train. They stopped us outside of a railroad yard. Canadians were in the boxcar in front of us. One of the men stood up to look out the top, and they shot him. We heard bombers overhead and learned that they were Allied bombers that were bombing the yard right beside us. That was another time God spared our lives.
We were then taken to a German POW camp where we were given the option to work on a farm, or to go to Munich to clean up after a bombing raid. I knew that I did not want to go to Munich because our men had destroyed the city. So, I went to the farm where we worked in a potato field in the summer, and cut trees in the forest in the winter. While we were on the farm, we had 2 guards. One of our guards, who supported Hitler, was wounded in Russia, so he was sent back to guard us. The other guard was an Austrian. He was nice, and we even kidded with him.
The Germans were being forced back by the Allied troops. A young German asked me why we were fighting each other. He thought that the Germans and Americans should have been fighting the Russians instead.
The day finally came when Allied soldiers came to get us. By this time the guard that supported Hitler had already left, so the Austrian was our only guard. The Allied soldiers wanted to shoot the Austrian, but we convinced them that he was "ok". So, they sent him down the road, alone.
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This is a true story that my grandfather told on the 50th anniversary of D-Day. My grandfather was a loving, Christian man that very rarely talked about these incidents. I know that it was difficult for him to remember this time of his life, yet he allowed us to videotape this story one year and three months before he passed away. The only other time that I remember him discussing the war was when he came to my 6th grade classroom to tell my class of his struggles as a POW. He was given a purple heart for the injury that he received in Sicily, but again he rarely talked about that award. If you have any questions about Glenn Myers' story, or if you (or a family member) were in his division, please e-mail me at RAShilling@aol.com.
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Questions
1. How do you think that Glenn felt when he was wounded in Sicily?
2. What day was D-Day?
3. What does the term wave refer to in "we were the second wave, so we came in as soon as the first wave hit the beach"?
4. What would you think of if you saw grown men fighting over scraps of food?
5. Would you have gone to Munich or to the farm? Why?
6. Why did Glenn and his unit tell the Allied soldiers that the Austrian guard was "ok"?
7. Why would it be hard for Glenn and other veterans to talk about the war?
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Outline
I. Introduction
A. Went to Africa, then Sicily
B. Injured in Sicily
II. First time saved: D-Day
A. Second Wave
B. Attacked by Germans
C. Captured
III. Second Time Saved: SS Troops
A. Walked through France
B. No more Prisoners
IV. Third Time Saved: Railroad Yard
A. Fight over scraps
B. Boxcars by railroad yard
C. Bombers bomb yard
V. Choices
A. Can go to Munich or farm
1. went to farm
2. potato field
3. cut trees
4. two guards
VI. Conclusion: Rescue
A. Saved the Austrians life
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Props
This story can be used to show the students the horror of being a POW. Any objects from this period of time would help them to visualize the reality of this. For example: pictures, purple hearts, uniforms, or videos of veterans talking. Another great "prop" that can be used is to have a veteran actually come in to talk to the class, or have them write to a veteran.
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Answers to questions
1. This is an opinion question, so the answers will vary. I wish that I had asked my grandfather this before he passed away.
2. D-Day was on June 6th, 1944.
3. The term wave refers to the movement of one group of soldiers after another onto the battlefield.
4. Answers will vary, but my grandfather thought that they looked like pigs fighting over slop.
5. This is also an opinion question, so the answers will vary.
6. They didn't want the soldiers to shoot him because he was nice to them.
7. War is a very traumatic experience for soldiers to go through. The soldiers are forced to see many of their friends die right beside them. (Answers may vary.)
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Source
Video of Glenn Myers telling his story of D-Day.