Dr. Charles B. Hanna Sr., at his home in Spartanburg, reflects on serving in Europe after World War II.
Buy Photo TIM KIMZEY/Tim.Kimzey@shj.com
Published: Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 11:54 p.m.
World War II was over. Tens of millions had lost their lives. Yet its devastation was raw and evident when Dr. Charles B. Hanna Sr. arrived on the battle-ravaged continent of Europe.
Hanna, a Spartanburg County native, was called up for active duty by the Army in April 1946. He had graduated from The Citadel and the Medical College of South Carolina, now the Medical University of South Carolina.
He received orders to go overseas, and the private first class set sail on a ship bound for France. Also aboard were German prisoners being returned to their native country. Hanna would also go to Germany and work in a hospital in a city firebombed before his arrival.
The hospital had been taken over by U.S. forces, and soldiers were treated for everything from broken bones to common colds. Hanna said it was operated like a general hospital. He served a couple months there.
Meanwhile, the Nuremberg Trials were under way. Nazi leaders were on trial before the International Military Tribunal for war crimes, crimes against peace, conspiracy to wage aggressive war and crimes against humanity, including killing 6 million Jews.
Hanna decided to attend the trial. For a day, he watched the proceedings.
The accused were lined up in two rows, Hanna said. Among them was Hermann Goering, who was later found guilty and sentenced to hang. Goering committed suicide before his execution.
Hanna was left with the impression that the Allied forces leading the trial were uncertain what to do because of the unprecedented nature of the trial. They considered the defendants guilty but questioned the extent of their guilt.
Asked about the atmosphere in the courtroom, Hanna said, ?How are we going to convince them and the people at home that they deserve punishment like we're going to give them? You knew when you walked in the room that they were going to get the book thrown at them.?
In the end, 13 were sentenced to death, six to prison and three acquitted.
Hanna was eventually tasked with assisting those who suffered in the aftermath of World War II.
A colonel questioned him about his medical training. Hanna had trained to be a surgeon. The colonel, he said, wanted to know how much he knew about nutrition. Hanna told him that he'd had one lecture on the subject.
?He said, ?Well you're now chief of nutrition for Austria, and here are your orders,'? Hanna recalled.
He recollected being handed his orders ? about an inch thick ? and was responsible for distributing millions of dollars worth of food to Austrians under the Marshall Plan, a program led and funded by the United States that offered aid to European countries after World War II.
Hanna said people there were hungry. He recalled that some cooked clover. He also remembered passing stores where shelves were bare. He spent about two years in Austria.
Every day or two, he would write a letter to his wife, who was home with their young son, or to his mother. He missed family and home. Military service, at that time, was the ?honorable thing to do.?
His first night home from service, Hanna said he sat down to supper. Someone came in and announced,
? ?My wife's going to have a baby! Come quick!' Well, I never did get to eat that supper.?
Duty called. Again. That night, Hanna delivered a baby.
Source: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20120226/articles/202261031
paula abdul mitt romney blake griffin cinnamon challenge lou dobbs rock salt david letterman
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.