Page 21 - DFCS NEWS MAGAZINE 2020-1

Walter Ram
The last POW was from WWII. He is Walter Ram, who is 96 years old.
Walter was a B-17 Radioman and Gunner. His aircraft was shot down in early 1943 while flying over Kiel, Germany.
When the aircraft was hit, Walter was injured and was unconscious. His crewmember, Chuck Lewis, threw him out of the plane and saved his life. Chuck stayed with the Aircraft and was killed during the crash landing.
Walter was captured and sent to a German hospital as he was badly wounded. Once he recovered, he was sent to an interrogation center and then to the notorious Stalag 17B POW Camp.
Conditions at this camp were terrible. POWs had little food, and many froze to death.
In April 1945 the Germans decided to march the POWs West. Forty-two hundred POWs were on a forced march for 30 days before the allies rescued them in May of 1945. During this march 393 POWs died. Walter Ram was a survivor, but during captivity he lost 60 pounds and he could hardly eat because of his shrunken stomach.
Walter was a POW for over 2 years.
Once the POWs finished their stories, the audience asked questions. One of the first questions was how did all of you survive captivity and your terrible treatment? What kept you going? To a man, they said that their thoughts of their families and the knowledge that America would not leave them there, but would come and rescue them, were what kept them alive.
SUMMER 2020 / DFCS News Magazine / 21