GO HUSKERS!

If your history search across Hoosierland doesn't stop at the scorer's bench, you're in Eerie, Indiana.

The real one has a net on either end.

The nature of basketball in Indiana has been a source of fascination for decades, though arguably the appeal has tarnished in the last 20 years.

I hope to visit several components of the sport in a blog that I hope is long on wow and short on yawn.

The one-and-bonus, so to speak.

In ancient days, meaning the time after the end of the first World War, schools were being built and basketball teams were forming. Anyplace that could be heated in winter served as a gymnasium.

Alquina, always a tough team

Separating the "city schools" from the township entrants isn't particularly difficult in the Whitewater Valley.

In Franklin County alone, high school teams competed from Brookville, Laurel, Springfield and Whitewater townships. In Union County, schools competed from Liberty, Brownsville, Kitchel and College Corner. From Fayette, Alquina, Orange, Fairview, Harrisburg, Bentonville all tried to oust Connersville.

Teams from such diverse places in Rush County: Milroy, Raleigh (The Sir Walters!), Manilla, and New Salem. Bright and Guilford came up from Dearborn County. You could also play Reilly, Ohio.

In most years, it was difficult to determine which school was better. Bentonville was as likely as anybody to play Connersville for the sectional title

Obviously, the rivalries were intense and games were often shifted to larger gyms to accommodate the crowds. In Brookville, the tiny Lew Wallace gym didn't have nearly enough room for all the fans, who were required to buy tickets on an even-odd basis.

A town lottery would be held for seats to the sectional tournament in Connersville.

Laurel played most of its home games in other gyms until around 1958.

Brownsville's gym was mostly a barn with sidewalls cut out to allow for seating.

There were moments, like 1950:

"James Jackson and his powerful Greyhound squad brought glory to Brookville Saturday night, as they trounced the surprising Blue Arrows from Alquina 55-38.

"The old town was in a blaze of glory after the game as the Greyhound fans built a big bonfire in front of the Valley House and gave the players a hearty welcome as they returned from the tourney."

The win had given Brookville its first real sectional title ever, and marked the end of a peculiar decade that saw perennial powerhouse Connersville come up short as often as not.

Connersville, by far the largest school in the sectional, also hosted the tournament in a cramped fieldhouse. Most years, the township schools battled for the right to lose in the final game.

Wartime changed some of that, with a large number of Connersville boys opting out of sports to work evenings in factory production, a practice that was not only accepted, but was indeed encouraged.

As a result, odd sectional winners emerged, though the Brookville title in 1950 was more the result of a talented team than watered-down competition.

Some of the winners during that decade:

1942 AND 1943 -- Kitchel
1945 -- Liberty
1946 -- Brownsville
1947 -- Everton

Oddly, it was Everton's final year as a school. A year earlier, the Everton team had lost only one game.

Marker in Kitchel denotes sectional titles

The Kitchel phenomenon defies description but I've discerned that brothers Clinton and Darrell Bostick were standout players for the Cowboys. I can find no detailed information on either player, though it was Clint who had made the winning shot in 1942. Darrell was the team's top player. Both are deceased.

The 1943 sectional story was succinct. Kitchel had already manhandled Brookville in the regular-season finale and the two were scheduled to meet again in the first game of the sectional. A dozen teams were entered.

"The Greyhounds will enter the tourney at 10 o'clock Friday (weekday morning games were common) against the highly touted Cowboys, who just recently handed the 'Hounds their worst drubbing of the 1942-43 season, 47-29. However, since Kitchel and Connersville are picked to clash in the finals, the 'Hounds would have to reckon with the Cowboys sooner or later in the fray, so it might just as well have been in their first game."

The report in the Brookville paper spent some time cheerleading. "Nevertheless, dope buckets have been upset, and should the 'Hounds spill the dope, and win from Kitchel, they will play the winner of the Whitewater-Everton game at 7 o'clock, Friday night, etc."

Etc.?

The 30-17 Kitchel win sealed the 'Hounds' fate.

Kitchel went on to beat Connersville 36-35 in double overtime to take the crown. Harry Dils made the winning shot.

But Kitchel had already etched its name on the walls of sectional history a year earlier.

Brookville American scribe Marion Cox with the call:

CONNERSVILLE FIVE
FLAYED IN TOURNEY

20-Time Winners Dethroned
By Kitchel Cowboys

"The sectional tourney at Connersville last week wrote finis to the 1941-42 basketball season for fans in this section. This year's tournament was different. It was different in that the Connersville Spartans, favorites to win as had been the case year after year, were corralled by the Kitchel Cowboys, who galloped all the way to face the stalwart Spartans in the final, winning undisputed right to the pennant, by the score of 40 to 38 in a double overtime game.

"Connersville holds the most enviable record of winning the sectional 17 consecutive years up to 1938 when Liberty was victorious; with Connersville returning to the win column until this year."

The report contained no details on the game but two consecutive double-overtime sectional titles was fodder for the ages.

In those days, the first TWO points in the second overtime gave a team the win. A first point did not, however. So, do the math on 1943.

As an aside Kitchel, actually won first-round games in each of its regional appearances before being eliminated and cast into the trivia bin of basketball history. Keith Stroup was the coach.

Laurel did not have a team in 1942.

For its part, Brookville's program was, at best, fairly ordinary. It was not rare for Whitewater or Laurel to beat the Greyhounds. Although ... one somewhat interesting near-success occurred in the fall of 1954.

"A hard-fighting Brookville squad was edged by the Milan Indians, 37-36, in a nip-and-tuck contest Tuesday night at the Milan gym.

"Coach Robert Mode's Greyhounds showed more spirit than they had displayed in their previous two contests ... and were leading the much heralded Indians during most of the contest. Milan grabbed the lead with a little better than two minutes left to play.

"Big Dick Cly, who started for the first time this season, had a chance to tie the contest and give the Greyhounds a victory as he was fouled just as the game ended. He received two free throws but missed them both."

Ah ................... choke!

Milan, for the record, had won the 1954 state tournament in its storybook upset of Muncie Central.

Brookville's basketball fortunes began to turn in 1957 ahead of its only unbeaten team the following year.

By the end of the 1950s, the consolidation script was on the wall and it would soon be apparent that the Kitchel Cowboys would be sent to that dude ranch in the sky.

In fact, the 1959 Brookville sectional championship team opened the tournament by easily defeating a Kitchel squad that was identified as "hapless."

Neither Whitewater, Springfield nor Laurel ever won a sectional tournament though all were finalists at one time or other.

Springfield holds a unique record, having shut out Fairview 51-0 in a 1938 sectional game. There has never been a sectional shutout that lopsided in Indiana history.

Not many people know that.

Teams that played in the Connersville sectional up until the mid-to-late 1950s:

Brookville Greyhounds (Purples)
Laurel Panthers
Springfield Cardinals
Whitewater Elkhorns

Alquina Blue Arrows
Bentonville Trojans
Connersville Spartans

Everton Bearcats

Fairview Yellow Jackets  (Fayette Central Chiefs)

Harrisburg Hornets  (Fayette Central Chiefs)

Orange Tigers (Fayette Central Chiefs)

Brownsville Lions
College Corner Trojans (usually played in the Ohio tournament)
Kitchel (aka Harrison Township) Cowboys
Liberty Warriors (later, the Lancers)

HALL OF FAME, NEW CASTLE
CECIL TAGUE BIOGRAPHY
JOHN COLLIER BIOGRAPHY
COLLECTABLE BOOK ON OLD GYMS

Block that kick!

Big doin's occurred in the spring of 1950. Life had stabilized in the Whitewater Valley and it was time to expand our horizons.

What better way than with ...

FOOTBALL!

Good old Grade-A American gridiron competition. (Soccer? What's that?)

Brookville High's basketball team had won its first sectional tournament championship a week or so earlier, but the headline in the Democrat on March 6, 1950, blasted out the news:

Chamber of Commerce Backs Football

Extensive Drive Planned
To Raise Funds To Start
Sport at BHS This Fall

Editor Raymond A. Everett had the call:

"The bark of the quarterback calling his signals, the dull thud of his toe kicking the pigskin, the yell of the crowd. 'We want a touchdown' -- all this and more too may be heard in Brookville this fall if plans now being formulated by the Brookville Chamber of Commerce are successful."

The Chamber was the driving force for developing a fund-raising strategy to outfit the first interscholastic team at the high school, citing a need for $2,500 to purchase the equipment.

1950s football uniform

"It was finally agreed to sponsor a drive for funds with a canvass of businessmen and civic minded individuals. It is hoped that a number of firms and individuals will volunteer to furnish the equipment for one player (the approximate cost is $70). Several persons have already signified their willingness to do this."

The plan, the strategy and the effort paid off. By summer, coach Jim Jackson (who also coached basketball) welcomed his first group of players. The games were to be played at the Town Park (in the valley) on weekday afternoons, since lights were not available.

On a Monday in early September, the Greyhounds played their first game against Cambridge City. The Wampus Cats were also playing their first-ever game as well.

It didn't go well for the 'Hounds, who lost 30-0.

"The Cambridge City outfit was built around Grinstead, a sophomore transfer from Florida, where he is reported to have made all-state in the backfield in his freshman year. Their offense looked a lot smoother than Brookville's and they had little trouble in rolling across five touchdowns."

If at first you don't succeed, the Brookville motto ...

The first home game was on Sept. 21, 1950, against Morton Memorial.

"The starting time is three o'clock. As most of the business houses in Brookville close on Thursday afternoon, a large attendance is anticipated. The price of admission will be 60 cents for adults and 25 cents for students."

The high school band was to get its first chance to perform, though "handicapped by poor weather for marching practice and by a recent change in music directors, some entertainment will be provided by the group at halftime."

It wasn't long before football took hold. As well, the cry for lights at the ballpark grew louder.

At one point, the Chamber of Commerce's appeal suggested that if the attendance couldn't improve, the program might be dropped.

"The need for recreation and activity for the high school age group is becoming increasingly evident. One of these activities, football, is in danger of being discontinued in another year," the Chamber wrote for the Democrat. "Many of the boys have learned to love the game after playing for three years, and would hate to see the school have to ban the sport."

The plea was somewhat disjointed, based on perceptions that could otherwise not be proven, including an estimate that the school was "losing" about $100 per game because the crowds were too small.

Without lights, the plea said, "... it is impossible for most people to attend because of their work."

In August 1953, the lights were installed.

On September 4, the first night game was played at the ballpark, with Brookville gaining revenge on Cambridge City, 26-6. Previously, Cambridge had never lost to Brookville. By then, the team was coached by Raymond Anderson.

The Greyhounds also played such teams as Batesville, Hagerstown, Aurora and Oxford McGuffey in those first years.

Before we went boating ...

So, what did we do for fun in Fairfield before the government gave us a place to go boating?

By the end of the 1940s, the public was on wheels, folks were working and ... getting married.

And having kids.

But most recreation was for adults in those days. It would be a few more years before the baby boomer kids would need something to do to stay out of Mom's hair and in the streets where they belonged.

Actually, playing in the streets in Fairfield in those bygone days wasn't particularly dangerous.

Aside from that, we had ... yes, squirrel hunting.

In fact, the Brookville Democrat made a big deal out of it, posting the annual season report on the front page each August, dating back to the end of the 1930s.

"Harrell F. Mosbaugh, director of the Division of Fish and Game, said that indications point to a better squirrel season this year than in 1943."

Oh, had the squirrels known ... alas, the "Indiana season opens today, Thursday, August 20, and closes October 6."

According to Mosbaugh's estimate, reports from 59 out of 75 conservation officers showed that the squirrel population was higher than it had been in the previous year.

"The harvest of squirrels by hunters during the 1943 season was 320,780 gray squirrels and 1,210,338 fox squirrels."

It is not important to ask who actually COUNTED this "harvest" of furry fun.

*   *   *

So, if you didn't want to traipse the woods in search of cheap meat, then what?

Well, there was horseshoes. The Democrat kept the league standings. Top pitcher in those days was Hubert Lohrey, with Bud Hofer, Vernon Price and Larry Hannebaum usually leading the way. Lohrey scored a ringer about 40 percent of the time, the data shows.

*   *   *

Meanwhile, "at a special meeting of 400 parents, teachers and school patrons held in Wichita, Kansas, it was agreed that sex education should begin in the schools at about the fourth grade. The meeting did not vote to institute the instruction in the Wichita schools."

Huh?

*   *   *

More genteel recreational activities included many in the valley.

County Home Demonstration programs were annual events.

"The growth of home economics work in the county was discussed briefly (at the annual meeting), following which all those who had been members of home economics clubs for 10 years or more were asked to come forward and presented with a rose in honor of their service. Twenty-three 10-year members were present."

A thrill a minute.

*   *   *

That week, the county's men were making plans to conduct the "Big Fox Drive" at Blooming Grove. The objective was to cull the valley of the pesky creatures. A dead fox was worth a small bounty.

Later, we'll shoot squirrels, right?

*   *   *

4-H for girls was a big deal in Fairfield.

Betty Louden, who was the reporter for the Fairfield Boosters, revealed that the Boosters held their first meeting on May 17 "at the home of our leader, Lucille Burke. Marlene Personette had charge of the meeting. Twelve members were present and 3 visitors."

Officers: Reba Gant, president; Sandra Banning, vice president; Patricia Browning, secretary-treasurer; Betty Louden, reporter; Janet and Janice Smith and Shirley Browning, game leaders; Marlene Personette, song leader; Wilda Snyder, health leader.

Wilda Snyder gave a talk on safety. She gave all members a chance to give an opinion on safety around the household. One gave a good hint. Music by all and refreshments were served."

Game leaders, huh?

Come on! What was the one good hint?

*   *   *

Also, "Mrs. Gradie Boyd took her Sunday School class of boys to see "Prince of Peace" at Brookville Saturday afternoon. Transportation was made by Kenneth Davis in his school bus."

That would be the Morin Theater, Brookville's finest.

*   *   *

"The Young Peoples Class of the Sunday School are planning a chili supper to be held Friday evening of this week."

Hot or mild?

*   *   *

Meanwhile in Metamora ...

"Walter Underwood, Brookville's Hot Rod race driver, is being held in the Fayette County Jail on a narcotics charge. The arrest of Underwood was made at Metamore on Tuesday, when it is reported he turned over a large quantity of mariuana to a federal undercover agend in exchange for marked money."

Reefer madness, no doubt.

*   *   *

By the early 1950s, shuffleboard programs had been implemented in Brookville, as well as tennis, softball, ping pong and horseshoes.

Softball was big in those days, and church league games were well-attended.

The Fairfield Methodist was apparently a powerhouse in 1955. Led by pitcher Vernon Price (wait, the horseshoe expert!) and the Logan brothers, The FFMC juggernaut crushed Springfield 22-8.

No further word on how the team fared is readily available.

Games were played at the Brookville Town Park.

Mosquitoes and all.

This photo from a 1955 Democrat, includes this caption information: Miss Joan Curts, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Curts of Brookville, is shown with a typical meal that will be offered for $1.35 at the cafeteria in the new $300,000 Service Building which will be open for the first time for this year's Indiana State Fair visitors. The State Fair opens today and will continue until Sept. 12. The new cafeteria is designed to serve 1,000 meals per hour. Miss Curts graduated from Brookville High School with the class of 1953.

Our second world war -- Part 9

Alice Butcher Gibbons provided this photo.

Fairfield's contribution to World War II cannot be understated. Over the course of the war, at least 35 township men either enlisted or were drafted into service.

At one point, a sign somewhere in the town listed the men who were part of a Wall of Honor. On it, 28 names.

However, a book produced a few years ago by Julie Schesselman at the Brookville library provides names of at least six other men who served but who are not listed on the sign.

Representative entry in Julie's book

Many of these men are buried in Sims-Brier Cemetery east of the lake just north of Causeway Road.

Julie's book is complex and contains the records of virtually everyone from Franklin County who served in the military, which dates as far back as the Revolution, on through the Civil War ... and includes the Korean conflict, and later, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf wars.

Many of the entries contain photos, personal accounts and anecdotes, depending on who provided the material for publication. Julie estimates that more than 2,000 entries represent Franklin County for World War II. It's at many libraries in Indiana and is available for sale on Amazon.com.

JULIE'S PUBLICATION

Our second world war -- Part 8

The modern woman's dream

An August 1945 headline in the Brookville Democrat proudly announced:

G.E. Will Make
Refrigerators

Production to start for
first since April, 1942

"The first complete assembly-line production of household electrical refrigerators since April 30, 1942, got under way at the General Electric Company's plant today."

(G.E. maintained a large presence in Cincinnati/Evendale.)

"The first of 95,000 refrigerators to be made by G.E. in 1945, the 7-cubic foot machines that came off the line were immediately crated and loaded aboard a truck for shipment to warehouses from which they will be distributed to the Army, navy and government claimant agencies."

So ... they really weren't quite ready to sell these appliances to regular customers.

And the company said so.

"G.E.'s biggest job still is to build equipment for our armed forces," (Production VP H.L.) Andrews said. "But since government restrictions on some peacetime manufacture have been lifted, we have reconverted any idle assembly line as quickly as possible."

Andrews made it clear that the "public must continue to wait, probably until next year, before new ones are available. All production will be stockpiled against essential demands until the government permits open-market purchases by the public."

The news was important, primarily because it instilled a sense of confidence among American consumers that the war was finally over.

But it also signaled that private industry was ready to take up the slack when millions of returning soldiers and sailors converted their own lives to peacetime.

There would be jobs.

Jobs that had not existed in 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt took office.

Those new G.E. appliances represented no major change in design or capability. They were simply refrigerators that were to have been built in 1941 but were shelved when the war broke out. Essentially, G.E. had spent nothing for advanced research and development.

But it didn't matter. It was peacetime economy.

As soldiers returned home, more changes would occur. There'd be a need for housing, highways and schools as America prepared for its "baby boom generation" that would shape our world into the 21st century.

As a sidelight to that, some components of the process were perhaps accidentally more useful than others. During the war, many factories depended on teen-aged youths to fill vacancies in manufacturing. Those youths gained valuable skills that allowed them to help convert manufacturing for the burgeoning peacetime growth that was soon to occur.

You just don't get these headlines today!

Also, as early as February 1942, farmers had been offered extension training to help repair and maintain their agricultural equipment. "Today, we face the situation which requires the prompt repair and conditioning of all serviceable farm machinery. These schools are designed to assist farmers in this task."

If the training did nothing else, it supported the notion that Americans needed to be self-sufficient. The principle was guiding well after the war ended. Government was consistent, if not slow, in converting from a wartime economy.

One assumes that experts could evaluate the unemployment data immediately after the war but it's a cinch it represented no trends, other than the demand for goods and services by the public would begin to grow. Blame most of that on television, I suppose. (Blame television for everything.)

Eventually, more recreation would be in demand.

The government took on a new role in some cases. They built dams.

GE HISTORY (Some very interesting stuff)

ECONOMICS STUDY

Our second world war -- Part 7

1945 cartoon in the Democrat. Scary stuff.

Many of the details surrounding the final months of World War II are common knowledge to us, a full seven decades or more after the war ended.

But that wasn't the case during the conflict itself. The War Department was reluctant to share insights into its activities, partly for reasons that were obvious for national security and partly because the complexities made it difficult to "dumb it down" for the average radio listener.

As a result, battles in faraway Pacific islands, aboard battleships and inside tanks, or troop transports ... all based on a need-to-know policy ... and many who endured on the home front were always in the dark about the war.

The standard propaganda painted everything in a positive light, generally because it's good for business, economically and morally.

The need for a lot of wartime rationing had effectively ended by the middle of 1944 but little attempt was made to impart that information. The scrap-metal drives had essentially ended and anyone who was involved in that had begun to pay attention.

D-Day invasion at Normandy in June 1944 was a morale booster for the military but the public back home had no such illusion. Americans had been aware of successes along the Italian front and had heard of the Nazi defeat in their ill-advised attack on Russia.

But the news was slow in coming.

Finally, the Democrat announced:

Victory Brings
End To Much
Of Rationing

Gasoline, and Many Canned Goods Are Off the List

"In an announcement made from Washington yesterday, the government hurled aside many wartime controls, but solemnly pointed out that reaching a fully prosperous peace at home will be neither quick nor easy.

"Reconversion Director John W. Snider frankly painted a picture of wide unemployment which he hopes will be only temporary -- 5,000,000 more within three months, perhaps 8,000,000 by next spring."

The report called for an immediate end to the rationing of gasoline, fuel oil, stoves, canned fruits and vegetables, catsup, grape juice, and chili sauce (chili sauce?).

"The armed services will discharge 7,000,000 men and women within a year or 18 months; perhaps 5.5 million from the Army."

Yep, unemployment loomed. Many of these soldiers and sailors had joined the military right out of high school when the war started and had never held a real job in the first place. Coming home, three or four years older now, they'd be facing a tough time.

As well, price controls were being lifted in a way to spur consumption of a variety of goods, such as jewelry, sports equipment, toys, cigarette lighters, pipes and cameras and film.

The need to ration shoe leather was also expected to end as the armed services numbers dropped drastically. Wool and cotton needs were also expected to decline, "thus freeing thousands of yards for the civilian market before Christmas."

Happy holidays, World!

Rent controls were expected to continue, though it's not clear why. Rail travel was also expected to be under a tight rein as soldiers returning home would need first-chance accommodations.

"Coal for use in this country will probably remain in short supply through next winter. Needs very likely will exceed supplies of meats, fats, oils, sugar and some other important foods."

To some end, the government was guessing. The enormous number of men and women coming home from war to a country that had spent more than 15 years in depression ... and a world that was beginning to modernize ... one that had sustained itself during a most difficult time ... nobody truthfully knew what to expect.

Economists essentially believed that America would somehow "buy itself out of trouble."

To some degree, that happened.

But first there was still the matter of the war in the Pacific, which was being gradually won.

The deal wasn't quite done, even after the atom bomb attack on Hiroshima.

A syndicated column in the Brookville paper wrote this hypothesis:

"As this Bulletin (Aug. 16, 1945) is being written, the world waits for the Japanese answer to the proposal of the Allies sent her last Saturday. The world may be at peace before these lines are being read. On the other hand, the insane militarists of the Japanese empire may determine to continue the slaughter of their citizens and the destruction of their cities and property for a brief period longer."

There was no mention of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) or Nagasaki (Aug. 9) in the article, for reasons that might have been obvious, might not have been.

"But the exhaustion of the Land of the Rising Sun must bring victory and peace within a matter of days at most. When this happens, when V-J Day arrives, there will be the deserved movements of prayerful Thanksgiving and complete rejoicing."

But caution was the word.

"It is our duty now to take everything in stride, and let the conversion from wartime endeavors follow an organized pattern, rather than hopeless confusion."

In a phrase, we trusted the government.

ATOMIC BOMBS OVER JAPAN

Our second world war -- Part 6

Editorial cartoon from the Brookville paper

I came across this article from an April 21, 1949 issue of the Brookville American. I had no particular reason to read it, other than "war news" was still part of my search agenda.

Funeral Services for
Pvt. Charles G. Lohrey
Held Wednesday

"Funeral services for Pvt. Charles Graydon (Bud) Lohrey, 27, were conducted at the Brookville Christian Church, Wednesday afternoon, with Rev. Gilbert Schreiber in charge. Burial was in Maple Grove Cemetery.

"Pvt. Lohrey was killed in action in Germany April 9, 1945."

The obituary adds the survivors and other standard details.

It took four years to locate Pvt. Lohrey's remains and have them sent back to Brookville.

Sometimes, the war didn't end the day the enemy surrendered.

*   *   *

A curious item from June 21, 1945, or just after the Nazis surrendered:

Liberated from
Prison Camp
in Germany

Sgt. L. Rosenberger
Tells of His Grim
Experiences

"Sgt. Laurence Rosenberger, who was liberated by the Russians on April 29th of this year from a prison camp near Munich, Germany, is visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Rosenberger, on the Dixon farm east of town.

"Rosenberger, who was a turret gunner in the Air Force, was shot down over western Germany on Aug. 4th of last year and tells a story, the grim details of which this newspaper regrets it does not have space enough to print in its entirety.

"Their plane aflame from anti-aircraft fire, Sgt. Rosenberger and his fellow crewmen bailed out and came down in a hail of flak and flying debris, landing in a tree top. He was forced to jump down and was severely injured in the landing.

"He was rescued, if it could be called that, from irate civilians by German forces and was taken with other prisoners to a Russian prison camp with little or no medical treatment. They were subjected to the most inhuman treatment in an effort to extract information, but were eventually moved on when this proved useless."

Rosenberger told the newspaper that the prisoners were constantly moved ahead of the Allied army's advancement in Germany. The prisoners were moved by rail, in box cars.

"The greater percentage of the prisoners did not survive.

"Among the more hair-raising experiences Sgt. Rosenberger was forced to undergo was that of sitting in a box car in the Frankfort yards while they were being bombed. At another time they were herded into crowded buildings in the heart of the military target of Nuremberg and held there at gun point."

Today, they'd refer to that as the "human shield" defense.

*   *   *

Sometimes, the families knew what had happened to their soldiers, which perhaps made it worse. John Lang of rural Brookville, was captured in early 1944 and was apparently given permission to write home.

County Soldier
Is Held Prisoner

John E. Lang Writes
Parents from German 
Prison Camp

"Dear Mom:

How are you getting along, fine I hope. I am. Feel great. Prison life isn't so bad as you think. I'm treated fine. I sure hope you believe me and don't worry about me. I will be home some day, just like I always told you.

You can send me cigarettes and candy if you want to. Just see the Red Cross, who are really great. I hope the work is about finished for the spring. I'll help with the next one.

My buddy and I are going to make a cake now out of our parcel. It weighs ten pounds and we get one once a week.

Well Mom tell all hello, and lots of love, from your son,

    --   Junior"

One may interpret this as one wishes.

Presumably. Lang made it back home in one piece.

War truly was Hell.