The Lobo Tank Busters; Antwerp Activities in the Near Future
By: Stan Jordan
This information was given to me by Judy Jordan Copsey about her father. It is a court document from 1945, about an Atrocity on the prisoners’ train he was on.
“For the War Crimes Office
Judge Advocate General’s Department – War Department
United States of American
“In the matter of the Shooting of an American Prisoner of Ware near Tours, France about 5 August 1944.
Perpetuation of Testimony of Garner E. Jordan, Staff Sergeant, ASN 35344060.
“Taken at: 320 East Canal Street, Antwerp, Ohio.
“Date: 11 May 1945.
“In the Presence of: Thomas F. Dewey, Special Agent, SIC, Fifth Service Command, Dana R. Headley, Agent, SIC, Fifth Service Command.
“Q. State your name, rank, serial number, and permanent home address.
“A. Garner E. Jordan, Staff Sergeant, ASN 35344060, 320 East Canal Street, Antwerp, Ohio.
“Q. Have you recently been returned to the United States from overseas?
“A. Yes. I returned to the United States on 8 April 1945, arriving at Boston, Massachusetts.
“Q. Were you a Prisoner of War?
“A. Yes. I was a Prisoner of the Germans in France and Germany.
“Q. At what places were you held and state the approximate dates.
“A. 1. A German hospital at Rennes, France from 5 July 1944 to 15 July 1944.
“2. A transit camp at Rennes, France from 15 July 1944 to 30 July 1944.
“3. XII A Limburg, Germany from 16 August 1944 to 1 September 1944.
“4. III C Kustrin, Germany from 1 September 1944 until 31 January 1945.
“Q. Do you know of any atrocities committed against American Prisoners of War?
“A. Yes. I saw a German Major shoot an American Prisoner of War alongside our train while we were en route from Rennes, France to Limburg, Germany.
“Q. Will you please state what you know of this incident?
“A. It was about 5 August 1944, while we were being transferred by train to Limburg, Germany from the transit camp at Rennes, France. I was in a box car with other American Prisoners and was looking out of a small window in the box car. The train was stopped because we were being strafed by American planes. We were also told that a bridge was out ahead of the train and that we were waiting for it to be repaired. We were about 20 (twenty) kilometers from Tours, France and were across the river which runs outside of the city. During the strafing of the train the German guards left the train and ran to the side of the tracks to get away from the strafing. After the planes had passed over, the guards and a young American solider returned alongside of the train. The soldier apparently had run with the guards to the edge of the track and when I first saw him he was alongside of the train with the German guards. The American soldier was wearing fatigues and paratrooper’s boots. He had been a prisoner on the train and while he was standing there a German Major came up, drew his pistol, and pulled the trigger, after aiming the pistol at the soldier. The Major was commander of the train on which we were riding and he appeared to be very angry because the train had been strafed by the American planes. When his pistol clicked and failed to fire, the American Prisoner attempted to take the pistol away from the Major. A German soldier, a guard on the train, grabbed the American Prisoner, struck him and threw him to the ground. The German Major then fired a shot at the Prisoner, who was lying on the ground. I believe that he killed the Prisoner with this shot but I do not know what happened afterward as the German guard took away the body. The German Major was about 5 (five) feet 10 (ten) or 11 (eleven) inches tall, wore glasses, had brownish hair, and blue eyes, and weighed 175 (one hundred, seventy-five) or 180 (one hundred and eighty) pounds. I do not know his name, nor do I know the name of the American Prisoner whom he shot. I do not know the names of any of the German soldiers who were guards on the train. After the American Prisoner was shot, the German Major also fired at a young French boy who was standing alongside of the train. I do not know whether the French civilian was killed but I am sure that the American Prisoner was killed by the bullet fired from the Major’s pistol.
“Q. Was the train in which you were being transported marked in any way to show that it was a Prisoner or War train?
“A. Yes. The train had white flags displayed on it but the American planes strafed the train in spite of this fact. The box cars in which we were riding were wired shut and we were given strict orders to stay in the box cars even though the train was strafed.
“Q. Do you know of the above incident from our own personal knowledge?
“A. Yes. I saw the German Major shoot the American Prisoner of war and I believe that the American Prisoner died as a result of this shooting.
“Q. Can you identify the German Major more particularly?
“A. No. I have told all that I know concerning the German Major.
“Garner E. Jordan, S/SGT”
Antwerp Activities in the Near Future
By: Stan Jordan
Well, the big ice cream social at the Bethel United Methodist Church is over and lots of people enjoyed themselves. The cruise-in of the Big Boy$ Toy$ will be here on Main Street in Antwerp, July 25th. The show is from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and the awards will be issued about 8:00 p.m. There are many categories to be judged.
The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce has a Day in the Park, and that will be on Saturday, August 8th. That same weekend is the Antwerp High School Reunion. There is a gathering at the VFW on Friday night with a dinner and dance at the MAC Gym on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. This is sponsored by the ACDC.
Soon after the Day in the Park, the big kayak race on the Maumee River will take place, if the weather and river cooperates. This big race is sponsored by the Advanced Chassis and Fabrication Shop.
See ya!
The Lobo Tank Busters
By: Stan Jordan
We left the airbase at dawn today and we headed pretty much straight east into Belgium. We had on extra gas tanks because we would be needing them on our way back. We were close to where the Americans buck up against the English and Canadians. We flew around fairly close to the ground to look things over and find some targets.
We found a good sized canal and a number of barges and boats on it. One rocket would blow up a canal boat pretty good, but a barge might need more than one. We tried to sink the targets in the middle of the canal, and that would hold up the boat traffic for a while.
Well, I guess each one of us used a rocket there. We sank all the targets and we all met up about a thousand feet altitude to look around for what we could shoot up next. We could see a number of American half-tracks loaded with soldiers just outside a small country town, and they were being held up. After buzzing the town, we found out that there were two 88 mm cannons, one on each side of the road and camouflaged to look like a small shed. Well, we got some altitude and then dove down on the edge of town and put a rocket in each cannon site. Then, the other two planes came down and done the same thing with one rocket each.
We went back upstairs to look over our job and we agreed both of the 88 mm were destroyed. One of the pilots said he caught a lot of small arms fire from around that red barn the south side of the road. So, we all went down in single file and shot up the haystacks and put two rockets in the barn. Then, things got busy. A big, 6-wheeled German command car came speeding out. The barn was burning with a lot of big, black smoke. Then, out came a couple motorcycles. They must have had a command post of some kind in there. We got the command car and the motorcycles and some soldiers trying to set up some anti-aircraft machine guns. If we didn’t get them, the heat from the burning barn would.
We had dropped our tanks before the raid on the canal, so it was time for us to head back to the Lopshire Airbase. After a good supply of Army Stew for supper, we set around and talked about today’s action. Soon, it was time for lights-out.
See ya!
