Note: This isn't as easy as it sounds. Writing in a child's voice and a Colonel's voice, as well. Here it goes...
Dear Soldier,
My name is Russell, and I'm 9. My teacher, Miss O'Brien, aksed us to write a letter because she says her brother is a prisner in a prisen camp in Germany. So my whole class is writing a letter and every soldier in camp could get one! I don't get why you are in prisen, if you aren't crooks. My dad says its too hard to explain. Do you know why?
What is your job? And what did you do before the war? I want to be a baseball player. Are you bored? Prisen sounds boring. And do you live in a cell? Do you know when you can come home?
Maybe you can write back. If you do, I will show your letter to my neighbor, Mrs. CENSORED. She has a son in CENSORED. Maybe you know him.
Sincerely,
Russell.
PS Here is a picture of my dog. I drew it. Do you like dogs? Her name is Ginger and she is a beagle.
Dear Russell,
I was thrilled to get your letter. Please thank your teacher for me.
You ask some very intelligent questions. Your father is correct. It is hard to explain why we are here. I guess you could say we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Almost everyone in this camp was in a plane that was shot down. And there are Germans who were shot down over England, and they are now in camps in England, Canada, or the United States.
No, we don't live in cells. We live in building called barracks. Some prison camps have very long buildings that hold a lot of men. Our camp has smaller buildings. The one I live in holds fifteen men. Our camp is almost like a military base. You may have seen films of these at the movies. However, unlike a military base, our guards will not let us leave, unless it is for a work detail (like building roads, shoveling snow). And we are guarded when we do this work.
Before the war, I was a pilot and that is what I was doing when my plane was shot down. Now, CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED
CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED.
I love baseball. Keep practicing and maybe you will become a professional player. I had to practice a lot to become a pilot.
It is boring here. We play cards and board games. When it is nice outside, we play soccer, volleyball, baseball and other outside games. We have also put on plays and once in a while we get to see a movie. There is a building here that we call the rec hall. There is a small library in there, as well as a ping-pong table, records, puzzles, and a record player.
I love the picture of your dog. It is now hanging up in my office in the barracks. I had a dog when I was a kid. Unfortunately, that is the last time I had a pet. When you are in the army, you move around too much, and that wouldn't be fair to the dog, would it?
I honestly cannot say when I will be coming home, but I hope it will be soon.
Thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Colonel Robert E. Hogan, USAAC
Senior POW Officer, Stalag 13
Hogan folded the page and placed it in an envelope. He thought for a moment, walked over to his footlocker, pulled out a spare pair of wings and plopped them in with the letter.
