Some guys were scarred
all over their bodies from the bites, but I can't remember having a
single bite. A boy named Lindstom was in the bottom corner bunk and
he was so sick he didn't move the last three weeks we were there. His
skin was Just raw from the fleas. One of his buddies was feeding him
and I wondered what happened to him when we moved out of this camp as
he couldn't walk. When I was in Atlantic City for discharge I met him
on a street corner and had a visit with him so I knew he made it.
About a week before we left this camp, the Red Cross sent in some
insecticide and we put it all over ourselves and our clothes and
blankets. By the time we moved out a week later we had rid ourselves
of most of the insects. Next to our barracks was a large one room
building used for a wash house. It contained only some old sinks and
two cold water faucets so we seldom used it. The old boards ran up
and down on the sides and we were gradually taking them off the
building to use for fire wood for cooking. The Germans forbade it so
we had to sneak around when they were not looking. The nails would
make a terrible noise when you pulled the boards off so we would
loosen them very carefully during the daytime when the guards were
not looking and at night we would time the sweep of the searchlight
to dash out and rip one off, then run for the barracks before they
turned the searchlight back and shot us.
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