SSG George Stratos (incorrectly recorded as George S. George)

The testimony of SSG Stratos (incorrectly recorded as SSG George)

Declassified per Executive Order 12356, Section 3.3, 735027, By NND, Date 1973

CONFIDENTIAL

Mistreatment of S/Sgt Marconi
of U.S. Army Air Force while
a prisoner at Wauwilermoos,
Switzerland, of the Swiss Army.
4 October 1945

MEMORANDUM FOR THE OFFFICER IN CHARGE:

      On 19 September 1945, this Agent interviewed S/Sgt George S. George at Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, Washington, where he is assigned to the Crash Boat Company 464, Squadron H. S/Sgt George was with the 447th Bomb Group, 710th Bomb Squadron, at Stonemarket, England. The B-17 bomber of which he was a crew member was disabled over Germany and was forced to land at Dubendorf, Switzerland, 13 April 1944. George was captured by Swiss Army soldiers and after incarceration at Adelboden and Wengen he escaped 27 September and arrived in England via France in November 1944. George related the following information regarding the imprisonment of S/Sgt Marconi of the United States Army Air Force at Wauwilermoos, Switzerland:
      S/Sgt Marconi was a member of a B-17 bomber crew based in England which was forced to land in Switzerland. It was reported to George that Marconi tried to escape from a Swiss Army prison in August 1944, but that he was apprehended. Marconi was then imprisoned at Wauwilermoos, a Swiss Army prison in which prisoners of all nationalities were held. Marconi was kept in solitary confinement in a damp, dirty dungeon. The place of imprisonment was infested with vermin and the left side of Marconi’s body was severely “chewed up” by lice and other vermin that infested the place of his imprisonment. Marconi’s diet consisted of a bowl of thin coup and one potato each day. Marconi was finally liberated and returned to England.
      George stated that he got his information about Marconi from members of the United States Army Air Force who had been imprisoned in the same place Marconi was placed after Marconi was transferred from Wauwilermoos. George was unable to recall the name of any of the informants and could furnish no further information regarding this incident.

Marvin L. Burkholder, Agent, SIC, NSC

CONFIDENTIAL