Determination

President Roosevelt briefs the press, 4:10 pm Eastern War Time, on the Normandy invasion. (1)

June 6, 1944

"The war isn't over by any means. This operation isn't over. You don't just land on a beach and walk through—if you land successfully without breaking your leg—walk through to Berlin. And the quicker this country understands it the better. Again, a question of learning a little geography."

FDR's words sobered up the men monitoring the communication equipment down in the tunnels beneath Luft Stalag 13. It had been a day of wild emotion. The fall of Rome and the news of the Normandy landings, which at this point, appeared to be successful, created an atmosphere of tension, confusion, and excitement throughout the camp. The prisoners kept their thoughts of celebration bubbling underneath the surface, lest they give their captors an excuse to lash out and conduct searches for radios they knew were hidden in the huts.

Both Klink and Schultz had retired for the evening, fearful of what tomorrow would bring. Hogan and his main core team had done the same. True to the colonel's word, he convinced the Kommandant to move up the roll call and bed check, claiming the day caused both excitement and fatigue and the men needed winding down. Newkirk, as well as many of the other prisoners, listened to the King's speech at 21:00.

Baker held FDR's words in his hand. The other men looked at him for guidance, for at night he was in charge.

"It's a bit of a downer, ain't it." RAF gunner Jerome Haskell was a good friend of Baker's and he was keeping him company in the tunnels on the overnight shift. "You going to take it up top?"

Baker shook his head. "No, I'd probably wake some of the men in the hut." Kinch was sleeping in an area normally reserved for rescued fliers, but the rest of the men were in their bunks. "And the colonel has had a tiring day. Let him sleep. This isn't vital. It can wait until morning."

The others nodded in agreement.

"It puts things in perspective," Foster stated a few minutes later. "The president is right. We can't take anything for granted."

"We're a long way from the coast of France." Baker took his seat by the telegraph. "The Germans will be fighting for their country now. And they know what they've done…" (2) He paused, but there was no comment from the rest of the crew. They all knew what Baker meant. What else could be said?

"They won't stop until someone gets to Berlin and takes out Hitler and his staff," Foster stated.

The night shift murmured in agreement.

"I hope we can get back in business." Foster was pacing the small area in frustration. "Sitting here doing nothing makes me feel useless."

"We'll be back in business soon," Baker replied with conviction. "And don't forget that we still have orders to rescue downed fliers."

With that reminder, the men huddled around the equipment, hoping for more news. The radio and telegraphs; their lifeline to civilization. The familiar voices of the BBC; the light in the darkness.

The end

(1) ap - flashback - d - day - june - 6 - 1944 / I've spent a great deal of time researching, reading and listening to radio transcripts over the last few weeks. The archived material on the internet is a treasure trove of primary sources. This is what the internet does well. I'm still overwhelmed when I listen to these original broadcasts, or seeing the exact news reports (typed and edited) from 75 years ago.

(2) Baker is, of course, referring to the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime and their collaborators. By this time, there was more to learn, but enough first-person reports leaked out, that I imagine our prisoners knew enough...The cattle cars kept running, the ghettos continued to be liquidated. So many innocent lives were lost during the last year of the war, that it is hard to believe...And deaths and atrocities continued even after the surrender.