Missing The Boat: War Stories of Thomas Alan Dirkin

23 the wall and wait until the raid was over. The danger for the weary was to let one’s head slip forward, either by not paying attention or because of drowsiness, or sleep. Exploding bombs create substantial percussion waves. For those prisoners who left a gap of just a few inches, the percussion from the explosions could create tremendous whiplash, resulting in neck damage, concussions, fractured skulls and in some cases, death. The First Letter from Home Before enlisting in late 1939, my father had married Joan Taylor in the fall of 1938. After about a year following his capture, his location made its way through War Department channels and eventually to his wife and parents. My dad’s first letter from home began: “Dear Alan, I want a divorce…” I asked him how he reacted to the news. “I read it, folded it up and put it back in its envelope, and did not really touch it again for a year. I had other things to think about....surviving hour by hour, day by day” My dad did divorce his first wife after his return from his years of being a POW. Then he met my mother. They remained married for over 50 years.