Stalag VI POW Camp Cemetery Cenotaph
Details:
In the former POW Camp cemetery, on the northern edge.
CenotaphAn inscribed marble plaque attached to a low pedestal.
The memorial remembers three American airmen who died while POWs at this Prisoner of War Camp, Stalal Luft VI (Heydekrug). The three airmen were listed as missing in action until 2022 when their bodies were recovered by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The three airmen include:
Tech Sergeant William Franklin Teaff. T/SGT Teaff was the Radio Operator on B-17 (42-31735) "Lucky Lee" of the 351st Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group, 8th Air Force which was shot down on March 6, 1944 during a mission to Berlin. T'SGT Teaff became a POW at Slalag VI and died of illness on July 10, 1944. He is remembered on the Wall of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery.
Staff Sergeant Walter Nies. SSG Nies was the Tail Gunner on the B-17 (42-5411) SHADY LADY of the 96th Bomber Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group, 15th Air Force and was shot down on January 12, 1944 on Mission to Sofia, Bulgaria. He was shot by and killed by a Camp Guard on May 28, 1944. He is remembered on the Wall of the Missing at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.
Staff Sergeant George Baxter Walker. SSG Walker was the Flight Engineer and Top Turret Gunner on B-17 42-31056 of the 369th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force and was shot down on February 3, 1944 while on a mission to Wilhelmshafen. He was shot while trying to escape the POW camp on April 29, 1944. He is remembered on the Wall of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery.
When an individual's remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.
Monument Text:
The text on the plaque is written in Lithuanian and English. The English reads:
From September 1943 to July 1944
2500 Allied Airmen were held
as POWs at this site.
Three Americans perished here
never to return home. Sgt's George Walker,
Walter Nies and William Teaf*
*Actually spelling Teaff
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
100th Bomber Group
15th Air Force
2nd Bomber Group
306th Bombardment Group
351st Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group, Heavy
369th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, Heavy
8th Air Force
96th Bomber Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group
Wars:
WWII
Other images :
