True WWII Story: One Soldier Who Broke the Rules

Could you watch a child starve to death? My dad told me about his experiences in Germany immediately after World War II. The Allied soldiers were ordered not to help the starving people of Germany. Only one soldier in his troop disobeyed that order.

When I was just a little girl, dad would sit me on his knee on the rocking chair and sing to me. One of our favourite songs was You Are My Sunshine. Then he would pull out his little photo album with a picture of a sailboat on the cover.

Dad would show me photos of him with some of his army buddies. But the most important photos he showed me were those with him and members of a family in Germany.

Though he knew he would go to prison if he was caught helping 10-year-old Johann, he could not stand by and watch this child die. Dad found a way for the family to help our soldiers. The soldiers were living in abandoned railway cars with no amenities.

Dad proposed an agreement between the family and his fellow soldiers. The soldiers would then pay for this service with their chocolate bars and cigarettes, which were shipped to them on a regular basis. The family had nothing left to barter with until this point. Now, they could go to a farmer and ask for food and return for these coveted chocolate bars and cigarettes.

How did Dad figure out how to help the German family? If you would like an answer to that question, you will find it in my book, The Other Side Of War, along with all my other books, on my website: www.mariedonaiscalder.com