"Dec. 24. No food or water. Locked in all day. Sang carols and prayed." (Diary)

Richard A. Hartman

Richard A. Hartman War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: 590th Field Artillery Battalion, 106th Infantry Division Service Location: European Theater Rank: Staff Sergeant POW: Yes Place of Birth: MD

Four days into the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944, Richard Hartman and his unit were forced to surrender to the Germans. He spent a miserable Christmas Eve confined to a crowded boxcar on his way to a stalag. He and his fellow prisoners would cheer when they saw familiar planes overhead or heard a report on the camp's concealed short-wave radio of an Allied advance. They also dealt out swift punishment to anyone who committed the great sin of stealing. Nearly five months after being taken prisoner, Hartman was liberated, wearing exactly the same clothes he was wearing on the day of his capture.