German POW

Heroes Remember

German POW

Transcript

The Germans were on the run and we came to one town and we're told to hold and when we come to a place like that, staying for the night we always found the place for squadron headquarters and then distribute troops around for guard and sentry duty. I went to the local hotel. I thought that would be a great place for squadron headquarters. So I went there and there were people crying outside the door and I found out when I went inside, the Germans as they were leaving town in a truck it was past curfew. Curfew in these towns there, nobody out at night and two little kids were running home and they machined gunned the two little kids. I went inside and the little boy was lying over in the corner dead. The little girl was on the table and there was a doctor there trying to save her life. She was a beautiful little girl, long blond hair, beautiful face and I couldn't figure out how the worst of the human race could machine gun these little kids. That little girl's face still haunts me. I went back, I went back to, to regimental headquarters to report our days to our intelligence officer and I went in and he had two German officers there and so I said to him, "I your getting lots a information here?" He said, "I can't get a damn word out of them." I said, "Well I thought you were excellent in German?" He said, "They speak better bloody English than you do." So I went over to one officer and I said, "Why won't you give them any information?" and he gave me one of these super silliest smiles, the wrong time. I said, "Listen you bastard you tell him what he wants to know or I'll spread you brains all over the wall." and I'd taken out my gun and I had pointed it at him and I had decided I'm gonna spread his brains. I was thinking of the two little kids and I pointed at him I could see his eyes he was, you know, starting to get a little panicky and I pointed and I fired. I missed him. I was aiming for the top. I missed him. I don't know how. Franky Lawlor, the intelligence officer, went under the desk. For a gun going off in a confined room it's quite a bang and I said well I'm not going to miss him again. And I readied, cocked and the intelligence Sergeant came in front of me and said, "Please sir we're trying to interrogate these officers." So I suddenly realized that's fine. So I left. In the morning I went back to apologize to, to the intelligence officer. He said, "No intelligence no apology is required," he said, "they talked and they talked and they talked." Even when they were sending them back to brigade they were still wanting to give more information. He thought that I had just fired the gun to scare them he really know that I was trying to kill the bastard and I realized fterwards you know, you hear about Germans shooting unarmed prisoners of war, not Canadian, and definitely not me, but yet I almost did.

Description

Now Captain, his troops had moved to Holland, near the town of Arnhem. Mr. Murray relates a chilling account of a confrontation with a German who has been taken a prisoner of war.

Robert Murray

Robert Murray was born in Toronto, Ontario on February 8, 1918. His father was Inspector of Detectives of the Toronto police force. Mr. Murray had six brothers and sisters. He was the second youngest.

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