Missing The Boat: War Stories of Thomas Alan Dirkin

37 fighting with the Polish resistance and Russians for what I learned was quite a while. Dates and duration of his time in and out of Stalag VIIIB will never be known. He mentioned that he had been recaptured. This may also be a reason for the mock firing squad. My father was definitely in Stalag IIIB in January 1945 and marched West in terrible conditions during the winter of 1945, as the Russians advanced from the east. I would have to believe that after captivity, being in control of your own destiny had to be a fair trade for the difficulties of staying alive on the eastern front. The Bridge My dad was sheltering under a bridge that crossed a river with two or three other men during another day of action. The bridge, made from heavy timbers, was hit on one end, causing it to collapse. My father and the other men were trapped in an interlocked mess following the blast. My father was suffocating slowly for almost eight hours with the weight of the timbers crushing his chest.