Vet News: World War II POW Receives Medals

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, September 21, 2003 -- A prisoner of war during World War II received a Purple Heart and a Prisoner of War Medal 58 years after being rescued by U.S. Army Gen. George Patton.

Chauncey Rowan, a P-47D pilot, received the medals from Col. Phil Breedlove, 56th Fighter Wing commander, during a ceremony Sept. 15 here.

"I am proud to be the one to set the record straight and to get these awards to a very deserving person," Colonel Breedlove said. "On behalf of the 56th Fighter Wing, I’d like to thank you for what you’ve done."

After dive-bombing a railroad during World War II combat, Mr. Rowan, an Army Air Corps first lieutenant at the time, had to parachute from his damaged plane. He was captured and taken to an interrogation center at Frankfurt, Germany. He and six other pilots were captured the same day and were accused of strafing civilians. The group, known as the Grieswald Seven, was threatened with death unless someone confessed.

Later, a plane with a deceased pilot was found with the gun camera film showing he had strafed the civilians and the group was ‘cleared.’

Mr. Rowan recalled his experience as a POW. While at Sagan, the prisoners received Red Cross parcels and some staples from the Germans, he said.

"The bread was filled with an artificial material and we sliced it so thin it was translucent," he said. "The jam was made from coal and blackened our tongues and mouth, but it filled out stomachs some so we didn’t complain. Spam and powdered milk helped make the culinary attempts somewhat better."

In early 1945 when the Russians advanced, Mr. Rowan and other POWs were forced to march through the snow through Czechoslovakia into Austria when they were transported to Nuremberg.

Mr. Rowan recalled the night the camp was evacuated.

"There was a frantic scramble for the men to gather what they could for the trip," he said. "Many ate any surplus food they might have had and destroyed anything else that couldn’t be carried. About six inches of snow had fallen over the previous few days, so some constructed crude sleds."

According to Mr. Rowan, more than 6,500 Americans and 3,000 British set off from Sagan in temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees below zero. As they marched into the cold, snowy night, the prisoners grew tired, Mr. Rowan said.

"Fatigue can disappear fast if something frightening occurs," he said. "It did when we heard what sounded like machine gun fire along with the noise of a plane overhead. Thinking we were being strafed, many of us ran off the road into the woods.

"With that, the guards opened fire, shooting over our heads. I remember squeezing my head under the body of another to avoid any wounds to the head. The adrenaline from this experience quickly restored our urgency and we did not drag our steps for a while."

At the camp in Nuremberg, they were near railroad yards that were subject to bombing by the British air force at night and the United States by day.

"Enlisted men and other prisoners were assigned to dig graves for the civilians killed in the bombings," he said. "We could see (American) pilots (flying over) who waved at us."

General Patton’s 3rd Army entered their camp and rescued Mr. Rowan and other POWs April 29, 1945, after a short battle.

"Later, Patton entered the camp and addressed us from his command car," he said. "I positioned myself very close to him and could admire the ‘spit and polish’ of his dress along with the view of his pearl-handled revolver. We had been liberated."

Twenty-six years after being held prisoner, Mr. Rowan was honorably discharged as a major from the Air Force July 22, 1971.

His accomplishments include 50 fighter combat missions with one enemy aircraft destroyed over enemy-occupied continental Europe. He has two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Air Medals and two European Operation Theater Campaign ribbons.

Mr. Rowan expressed his pride in receiving the awards and of the men and women serving in the military today.

"Thank you for those waging the war against terrorism," he said. "God Bless America."