I was raised on a farm between Hickory and Conover, North Carolina, the oldest of nine children, and this is a brief accounting of my military, combat, and prisoner of war experience in World War II.
I was one of the fortunate few who received more than the average amount of training time before being sent into combat. For this, I am very grateful. I feel that the extra preparedness made the difference in surviving or not surviving the horrors of war and the German prisons.
I am not writing because I think that my experience is unique or extraordinary in any way. I know that many combat soldiers and military service personnel suffered far worse experiences and for much longer duration than I did. However, this is my story, and if I don’t write about it, no one else will.
My grandfather, John Monroe Miller, fought for the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War. He was captured by the Yankees near Richmond, Virginia, and held prisoner for 16 months at Point Lookout, Maryland. I wish he had written an account of his combat and prisoner of war experiences. I am sure it would have given his descendents a better appreciation of the hardships that he and his comrades and their families at home suffered during that terrible and devastating war.
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