Esprit de corps getting lax...

Near the German city of Giessen was one of the most imfamous p.o.w. camps of the First World War. Denutrition, punishments and psychological mobbing were rampant. It was a precursor to major concentration camps of the mid-20th century and beyond. Grant and his comrades evacuated prisoners from Giessen several times.

Monday, January 20, 1919:

Left this A.M. at 6:30 for Giessen--#1,2,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,16,18, staff car and camionette. The day was dark and cold. Hap got almost as far as Frankfurt and had to return with carburetor trouble. The remainder of the trip passed off without accident.

Giessen POW Camp

A few kilometers out of Butzback, [Clifford O.] Soles & I left the convoy for Wetzlar. We arrived at our destination at about 11:30 A.M. and sat down to an excellent dinner with a French 2nd Lieutenant now in charge of the cemetery at the Wetzlar prison. We were supposed to bring this doctor back with us together with his infirmière and one couché. The Lieutenant spoke English--he was very nice to us. Since the armistice was signed they have been having a pretty easy time at Wetzlar. This Lieutenant had taken charge of the cemetery & camp sanitary conditions. He had been prisoner since last July taken on the Champagne. He had come to Wetzlar in October and had found things in a terrible condition. The graves of those prisoners who had died were not marked nor nicely arranged. No car had been taken of the place whatever. There were a number of Russian prisoners in the camp and the doctor said they were the worst, most slovenly and unsanitary people he had ever seen or heard of.

We left Wetzlar about 1:30 P.M. without the doctor, without the infirmière and without the couché. The doctor wouldn’t leave until he had finished his work, namely that of locating & labeling the graves of the dead. His infirmière wouldn’t leave without him and the couché has already been evacuated so Solesy and I returned to Mainz with no more of a load than we had running up. Out of Frankfurt we ran on to LaFleur out of gas so I took his patents aboard. McCrackin & Fraser took gas out to Al after we arrived. We pulled into camp about 6 P.M. tired & cold. Had one blow out just out of Wetzlar.


Wednesday, January 22:

The Lieutenant called us together today and made us a speech about the “esprit de corps” of this section. It seems that we are getting lax within the section & unless we improve we will have to drill, rise and go to bed at the signal of the bugle. I have since learned that the talk was intended especially for the cooks who have been getting a bit bossy of late, but I think the talk passed right over their heads. Woodie is obstinate and contrary. Afterward I had a talk with the Lieut. regarding my situation as a sergeant. He called me a quitter because I didn’t throw McCrackin out when he butted into my work and wait for orders from the Lieutenant before I withdrew. I explained the situation as I had seen it. He understood and was very nice about it. He would like to see me back where I was before McCrackin came, but didn’t want to put me there himself under the conditions. So I’m to wait awhile for further developments before I receive instructions. What this mean, I don’t know. Hope he isn’t going to get rid of Mac. I impressed it upon his mind that I was making no claims of reinstatement whatsoever--that I am absolutely contented to remain a private in this section.