#2512 Dienst Grad II
by Donald E. Phillips
Donald Emerson Phillips entered the Air Force on November 27, 1941. He was awarded navigator wings at San Marcos, Texas, on June 23, 1943. The following month he went to England. On his second bombing mission on September 6, 1943, his plane went down over occupied France. He was captured and then sent to Stalag Luft III in Sagan, 75 miles Southeast of Berlin. Stalag Luft III was made famous in the 1963 movie, The Great Escape, which chronicled the tunneling and escape efforts of the prisoners. Stalag Luft III consisted of five compounds and Don was assigned to Center Compound, Block 44, Combine C. His combine (or prisoner group) initially consisted of just 3 men, but increased to as many as 14 as more prisoners were added. On January 29, 1945, Stalag Luft III was evacuated so the camp would not be captured by the Russians. Ten thousand prisoners were marched out of the camp in the late evening and early morning with little notice. After several days of both walking and being transported by boxcars, the prisoners eventually ended up in Stalag VIIA at Moosburg, another German prisoner camp. Don and thousands of others were liberated on April 29, 1945, by General Patton and his troops.
Don was 25 when he was captured and nearing 27 when he returned home to rural central Illinois. He was the youngest child of Amelia and R.W.E. Phillips and their only son. Amelia and R.W.E. had three older daughters, Blanche, Bernice, and Dorothy who were all married to farmers, none of whom served in WWII. All of Don’s sisters had children by the time he entered the war.
Don’s POW number was #2512 Dienst Grad II. In German dienst translates to rank.
What follows are various pieces Don wrote over the years about his POW experience as well as letters written during internment.
