☆☆☆ WORLD WAR II VETERAN ☆☆☆
Uncle Merton was the 4th of 9 children born to Scott and Delia Ann Box Alcorn who married on June 3, 1911. His paternal grandparents were Lafayette Alcorn and Alice (Love) Alcorn. His maternal grandparents were Maston "Matthew" Wiley Box and Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" (Seats) Box.
Uncle Merton served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Radio Gunner in the 388th Bomb Group during World War II and became a prisoner of war. On a mission to Brunswick, Germany, his plane was shot down on March 23, 1944 in Wildeshausen, Germany and upon capture, he was sent to Stalag Luft One, a Nazi camp in Barth, Germany, where thousands of downed Allied fliers who had parachuted out of their planes and been captured were taken. Merton was housed in North 3, Barracks 2 (Block 302), Room 13. The prisoners called themselves "kriegies" (a shortened version of the German word for prisoner of war, "kriegesgefangener").
There he and the others endured brutal cold and starvation, and for at least one month (March, 1945) each prisoner was only given a single bowl of rutabagas each day. On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the Germans dumped tens of thousands of Red Cross food parcels into the camp. Many of the prisoners ate huge amounts of the food and were very sick.
The German guards abandoned camp on April 30, 1945, escaping the advancing Soviet army. An announcement was made over the PA system that the prisoners were free and Uncle Merton and all others were airlifted out of the area.
An article published after Uncle Merton's return to the U.S. appeared in the 7-5-1945 edition of The Current Local, Van Buren, Carter Co., MO on the front page under "Ellsinore Notes".
"Sgt. Merton Alcorn, who was a prisoner of the Germans for 13 months, arrived home here one day last week. Merton says his bomber on which he was a radio-gunner, was shot down on their 13th mission. The bomber exploded in midair and five of the crew were killed. He said he landed in the middle of the street of one of the German cities and, of course, was captured at once. He suffered a broken arm which was not given medical attention for several days after he was captured by the Germans. He related that their food consisted of a bowl of thin, unseasoned soup and two slices of black bread a day, and that the American prisoners would have suffered much worse had it not been for the packages they received through the Red Cross. Merton says he received very little of his mail while he was a prisoner."
Upon his return from Germany, Uncle Merton married Virginia Aileen Potter on August 21, 1945. After their divorce sometime after 1952, he married Pauline Ruser on November 23, 1957, and the couple had two children, John and Rosemary. He worked as a general manager for Williamsville Stone and Porter-DeWitt Ready Mix in Poplar Bluff. He was also a partner with the Harris-Dexter Ready Mix Company in Dexter. After 40 years of service, he retired as President of Porter-DeWitt Construction Company.
A HUGE "Thank-You" to Star Kline for creating Uncle Merton's memorial originally, to Michael Stephen Jackson for sponsoring it and to Volker Urbansky for adding the photo of the B-17 Bomber that Uncle Merton was flying in when it was shot down in Germany!
Uncle Merton was the 4th of 9 children born to Scott and Delia Ann Box Alcorn who married on June 3, 1911. His paternal grandparents were Lafayette Alcorn and Alice (Love) Alcorn. His maternal grandparents were Maston "Matthew" Wiley Box and Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" (Seats) Box.
Uncle Merton served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Radio Gunner in the 388th Bomb Group during World War II and became a prisoner of war. On a mission to Brunswick, Germany, his plane was shot down on March 23, 1944 in Wildeshausen, Germany and upon capture, he was sent to Stalag Luft One, a Nazi camp in Barth, Germany, where thousands of downed Allied fliers who had parachuted out of their planes and been captured were taken. Merton was housed in North 3, Barracks 2 (Block 302), Room 13. The prisoners called themselves "kriegies" (a shortened version of the German word for prisoner of war, "kriegesgefangener").
There he and the others endured brutal cold and starvation, and for at least one month (March, 1945) each prisoner was only given a single bowl of rutabagas each day. On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the Germans dumped tens of thousands of Red Cross food parcels into the camp. Many of the prisoners ate huge amounts of the food and were very sick.
The German guards abandoned camp on April 30, 1945, escaping the advancing Soviet army. An announcement was made over the PA system that the prisoners were free and Uncle Merton and all others were airlifted out of the area.
An article published after Uncle Merton's return to the U.S. appeared in the 7-5-1945 edition of The Current Local, Van Buren, Carter Co., MO on the front page under "Ellsinore Notes".
"Sgt. Merton Alcorn, who was a prisoner of the Germans for 13 months, arrived home here one day last week. Merton says his bomber on which he was a radio-gunner, was shot down on their 13th mission. The bomber exploded in midair and five of the crew were killed. He said he landed in the middle of the street of one of the German cities and, of course, was captured at once. He suffered a broken arm which was not given medical attention for several days after he was captured by the Germans. He related that their food consisted of a bowl of thin, unseasoned soup and two slices of black bread a day, and that the American prisoners would have suffered much worse had it not been for the packages they received through the Red Cross. Merton says he received very little of his mail while he was a prisoner."
Upon his return from Germany, Uncle Merton married Virginia Aileen Potter on August 21, 1945. After their divorce sometime after 1952, he married Pauline Ruser on November 23, 1957, and the couple had two children, John and Rosemary. He worked as a general manager for Williamsville Stone and Porter-DeWitt Ready Mix in Poplar Bluff. He was also a partner with the Harris-Dexter Ready Mix Company in Dexter. After 40 years of service, he retired as President of Porter-DeWitt Construction Company.
A HUGE "Thank-You" to Star Kline for creating Uncle Merton's memorial originally, to Michael Stephen Jackson for sponsoring it and to Volker Urbansky for adding the photo of the B-17 Bomber that Uncle Merton was flying in when it was shot down in Germany!
☆☆☆ WORLD WAR II VETERAN ☆☆☆
Uncle Merton was the 4th of 9 children born to Scott and Delia Ann Box Alcorn who married on June 3, 1911. His paternal grandparents were Lafayette Alcorn and Alice (Love) Alcorn. His maternal grandparents were Maston "Matthew" Wiley Box and Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" (Seats) Box.
Uncle Merton served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Radio Gunner in the 388th Bomb Group during World War II and became a prisoner of war. On a mission to Brunswick, Germany, his plane was shot down on March 23, 1944 in Wildeshausen, Germany and upon capture, he was sent to Stalag Luft One, a Nazi camp in Barth, Germany, where thousands of downed Allied fliers who had parachuted out of their planes and been captured were taken. Merton was housed in North 3, Barracks 2 (Block 302), Room 13. The prisoners called themselves "kriegies" (a shortened version of the German word for prisoner of war, "kriegesgefangener").
There he and the others endured brutal cold and starvation, and for at least one month (March, 1945) each prisoner was only given a single bowl of rutabagas each day. On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the Germans dumped tens of thousands of Red Cross food parcels into the camp. Many of the prisoners ate huge amounts of the food and were very sick.
The German guards abandoned camp on April 30, 1945, escaping the advancing Soviet army. An announcement was made over the PA system that the prisoners were free and Uncle Merton and all others were airlifted out of the area.
An article published after Uncle Merton's return to the U.S. appeared in the 7-5-1945 edition of The Current Local, Van Buren, Carter Co., MO on the front page under "Ellsinore Notes".
"Sgt. Merton Alcorn, who was a prisoner of the Germans for 13 months, arrived home here one day last week. Merton says his bomber on which he was a radio-gunner, was shot down on their 13th mission. The bomber exploded in midair and five of the crew were killed. He said he landed in the middle of the street of one of the German cities and, of course, was captured at once. He suffered a broken arm which was not given medical attention for several days after he was captured by the Germans. He related that their food consisted of a bowl of thin, unseasoned soup and two slices of black bread a day, and that the American prisoners would have suffered much worse had it not been for the packages they received through the Red Cross. Merton says he received very little of his mail while he was a prisoner."
Upon his return from Germany, Uncle Merton married Virginia Aileen Potter on August 21, 1945. After their divorce sometime after 1952, he married Pauline Ruser on November 23, 1957, and the couple had two children, John and Rosemary. He worked as a general manager for Williamsville Stone and Porter-DeWitt Ready Mix in Poplar Bluff. He was also a partner with the Harris-Dexter Ready Mix Company in Dexter. After 40 years of service, he retired as President of Porter-DeWitt Construction Company.
A HUGE "Thank-You" to Star Kline for creating Uncle Merton's memorial originally, to Michael Stephen Jackson for sponsoring it and to Volker Urbansky for adding the photo of the B-17 Bomber that Uncle Merton was flying in when it was shot down in Germany!
Uncle Merton was the 4th of 9 children born to Scott and Delia Ann Box Alcorn who married on June 3, 1911. His paternal grandparents were Lafayette Alcorn and Alice (Love) Alcorn. His maternal grandparents were Maston "Matthew" Wiley Box and Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" (Seats) Box.
Uncle Merton served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Radio Gunner in the 388th Bomb Group during World War II and became a prisoner of war. On a mission to Brunswick, Germany, his plane was shot down on March 23, 1944 in Wildeshausen, Germany and upon capture, he was sent to Stalag Luft One, a Nazi camp in Barth, Germany, where thousands of downed Allied fliers who had parachuted out of their planes and been captured were taken. Merton was housed in North 3, Barracks 2 (Block 302), Room 13. The prisoners called themselves "kriegies" (a shortened version of the German word for prisoner of war, "kriegesgefangener").
There he and the others endured brutal cold and starvation, and for at least one month (March, 1945) each prisoner was only given a single bowl of rutabagas each day. On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the Germans dumped tens of thousands of Red Cross food parcels into the camp. Many of the prisoners ate huge amounts of the food and were very sick.
The German guards abandoned camp on April 30, 1945, escaping the advancing Soviet army. An announcement was made over the PA system that the prisoners were free and Uncle Merton and all others were airlifted out of the area.
An article published after Uncle Merton's return to the U.S. appeared in the 7-5-1945 edition of The Current Local, Van Buren, Carter Co., MO on the front page under "Ellsinore Notes".
"Sgt. Merton Alcorn, who was a prisoner of the Germans for 13 months, arrived home here one day last week. Merton says his bomber on which he was a radio-gunner, was shot down on their 13th mission. The bomber exploded in midair and five of the crew were killed. He said he landed in the middle of the street of one of the German cities and, of course, was captured at once. He suffered a broken arm which was not given medical attention for several days after he was captured by the Germans. He related that their food consisted of a bowl of thin, unseasoned soup and two slices of black bread a day, and that the American prisoners would have suffered much worse had it not been for the packages they received through the Red Cross. Merton says he received very little of his mail while he was a prisoner."
Upon his return from Germany, Uncle Merton married Virginia Aileen Potter on August 21, 1945. After their divorce sometime after 1952, he married Pauline Ruser on November 23, 1957, and the couple had two children, John and Rosemary. He worked as a general manager for Williamsville Stone and Porter-DeWitt Ready Mix in Poplar Bluff. He was also a partner with the Harris-Dexter Ready Mix Company in Dexter. After 40 years of service, he retired as President of Porter-DeWitt Construction Company.
A HUGE "Thank-You" to Star Kline for creating Uncle Merton's memorial originally, to Michael Stephen Jackson for sponsoring it and to Volker Urbansky for adding the photo of the B-17 Bomber that Uncle Merton was flying in when it was shot down in Germany!
