207491 Cpl. Thomas Eugene "Barney" Barnett United States Army Co K, 112th Infantry Regiment from:Tucapau, South Carolina My Grandfather, Thomas Barnett was captured on November the 8th 1944 whilst serving with the 112th in 28th Infantry Div. He was initially held captive at Stalag (III B); He was held there for 2 months and transferred to Stalag (II A), where he was held for 4 months. According to him (he hardly ever talked about his experiences, and when he did he always got upset) Stalag II A was located in between a fork in the road. The Russians later liberated the camp, but he was able to escape just before that happened. He told the story that Russians were shelling artillery from both sides of the fork. He said a mule took some shrapnel and ran through the fencing that imprisoned the camp. He and others took flight out of the hole made by the mule. He managed to retrieve a CZ24 sidearm off a dead German Officer. He told of how an SS Officer was riding a horse through those that were able to make it outside the fencing and was cutting POW's down with a sword.
He and others were able to make it back to friendly lines, He was returned to action on May 24th 1945. I once asked him why he and the others didn't run towards the Russians, he told me that they were afraid that the Russians would make them fight with them and that they would be used as the frontline and sent into positions in which they would be guinea pigs. He said he never thought he would make it back to friendly lines but he wasn't going to die in that camp. He brought the CZ24 home with him, My Dad owns it now. My Grandfather has too many medals to list I will say that he has a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Prisoner Of War, and a French Croix. The others are too numerous to add here. He passed away in 2002 and to my amazement Congress had stopped giving full military burial rights a couple years prior to my Grandfather passing. The Army initially were intending on sending 2 soldiers with a tape recorder to play Taps. This pissed me off to no end. My Grandfather passed on a Monday morning, and after I found out the Army's arrangements for him I got on the phone and called my Congressional Representative in South Carolina, which was Jim Demint at the time. I voiced my displeasure that Congress had reduced Military funeral rights down to a tape recorder of Taps. I said " why not just spit on his grave while your at it." After 3 days of calling, my Representative had arranged for my Grandfather to have Full Military burial rights. He had a 21 gun salute, a bugler, the works. It's a shame that other WWII Vets (Heroes) may have only had a tape recorder. For anyone that reads this if your WWII veteran has not passed on yet, I urge you to contact your congressman and make sure the Veteran receives a dignified and fitting burial.
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