About five guys would get
under a pipe and we would Jostle to all get wet as it was only a
small stream of water coming out. We soaped ourselves then crowded
under again to wash the soap off before the water was turned off. In
our group were four or five white men and one black man. We must have
made a beautiful sight all trying to get under the water at once. As
I look back on it this is what was meant by true integration! On the
walk back to our barracks some of the guys were too weak to make the
trip and fell down. We didn't realize that in our weakened Condition
the hot water was too much for our systems. The stronger men carried
the weaker ones between them back to the barracks. This was the only
good bath I had during the final two months as a prisoner. Each
morning we had to line up outside for roll call which was the way
they kept track of the number in each barracks to determine that no
one had escaped. We had a bugle player who played revile when the
German Camp Commander and his group came in every morning. As soon as
they arrived Inside the wire he would start playing a swinging
revile. He really played some hot music and we would clap and cheer
which made the Germans angry. We stood there while they counted us
and once in awhile someone too weak to stand would fall and lay there
on the ground. After roll call we would carry them back to the
barracks. Most of the weakness was caused by inactivity and having
only barely enough food to survive.
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