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John H. Paddy John H. Paddy from Albuquerque, NM wrote on May 31 2021 at 5:34 pm
Hello! My father, John W. Paddy, served in the 142nd Infantry, G Company. He was captured by German forces near Bitche, France. He was born and reared in rural Louisiana. (He grew up speaking French) He befriended a French family who hid him in their home before the German Army found him. Once located, he was in civilian clothes. He told me he buried his uniform in a field behind the residence. He tried to pass himself as a French national, then was interrogated by the SS as being part of the "French Underground". Fearing certain death, he then admitted to being with the 36th Division, 142nd Infantry, G Company. The Germans didn't believe him. Eventually, the interrogation/torture stopped when a German Officer believed my father's story. You see, the German Officer had attended and graduated college from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He gave my father, who was only 19 years old at the time, a cigarette and some water. Eventually, my Dad was liberated from the POW Camp in Mooseberg, Germany. He weighed under 100 pounds. I just wanted to share this on this Memorial Day, in memory of my father who passed away in 2013 at age 88.
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