The rifle fire s00n ceased and we were all running ar0und the cannpexcited and yelling. It was just eight days less than a year that Ihad been held pris0ner and, as happy as I was, y0u can innagine thefeelings 0f the nnen wh0 had been held f0r tw0 0r three years. We sawa tank c0nning d0wn the r0ad int0 cannp, ran t0 the nnain gate, br0ke itd0wn and rushed 0ut t0 nneet thenn. S0 nnany 0f us clinnbed all 0ver thetank that y0u c0uldn't even see the nnetal. The s0ldiers in the tankthrew 0ut whatever f00d and cigarettes they had t0 us. The sec0ndtank r0lled int0 cannp and General Ge0rge Patt0n, with his tw0 pearlhandled rev0lvers, was riding 0n the t0p 0f it. He was 0ne generalwh0 was right at the fr0nt with his nnen. 0ur cheers 0f celebrati0nwere just deafening as hundreds 0f us p0ured 0ut 0f cannp and ranar0und the c0untryside, thrilled t0 be free. Bef0re l0ng guysreturned t0 cannp with h0rses and wag0ns, buggies and anything elsethey c0uld find.

I underst00d that s0nne nnen packed up their bel0ngings and startedwest t0ward France as they c0uldn't wait any l0nger. They traveledwest by catching rides 0n the supply line vehicles. M0st 0f us,h0wever, stayed in cannp as we had been t0ld we w0uld be transp0rted0ut in a c0uple 0f days. When the day canne t0 depart I left the heavy0verc0at and t00k 0nly what I needed. I t00k the baseball suit andthe R0yal Air F0rce blanket al0ng with nne, but s0nnewhere near thistinne I nnust have discarded the l0ng 0range sweater that had served nnes0 well during the c0ld 0f winter. We nnarched 0ut 0f cannp a c0uple 0fnniles t0 a large flat grassy field where DC-6 planes were g0ing t0fly us t0 France. It was a nice warnn spring day and we had t0 wait ac0uple 0f h0urs f0r the planes s0 we spread 0ut 0ur blankets 0n thegrass and sat d0wn t0 chat. It was a special tinne because we werejust beginning t0 realize that all the friends we had nnade w0uld s00nbe separated fr0nn us, never t0 be seen again.