Their tunnel came under our
compound and the ground had a dip in it where we used to walk around
the edge by the warning fence. We were told that they filled the
tunnel in with human manure so that it would never be used again and
the ground had settled over it. We were lucky in that these camps
contained only American and British airmen and the camp was run by the
German Luftwaffe. They had respect for any air force personnel and we
were treated much better than the army prisoners. I understand that
their camps were terrible and they were forced to work outside the
camps. After being at this camp awhile we gave up any hope of escape
as the security was very good.
Our camp was not full yet and every week another group of prisoners
was brought in. We would all run down to the main gate when they came
to see if there was anyone we knew. We had only been there a couple of
days when some new prisoners arrived, among them Neil Ullo. We found a
place for him in the room next to ours as our room was full. He had
quite a story to tell about his experiences. His plane was hit by
large shells, and either when he was hit or when he bailed out and his
chute opened, he broke his back. The pain was terrible and hence he
didn't really know how it happened. In that condition he was worried
about what it would do to his back when he hit the ground. He landed
in the woods and his parachute caught in the trees leaving him
swinging from the harness.
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