hi my name is levant and i reside in northern california and i enjoy all aspects of world war two history. I am currently restoring a 1943 willys mb jeep to original. i belong to togeather we served marines and the g503. hope to talk with all of you sooner or later. my father served with the sightseen 6th div in ww two at leyte and corrigadore. he is still alive and well and full of info about the pto i served with vma 214 blacksheep in 68
"real jeeps have flat fenders"Hello everybody.
I’m new and anxious to start searching this site.
not much to say at this time, but just to say that i will be working on my input in the near future.
I have joined this forum to vouch for Erwin Bartmann.I am also in Scotland about 45 miles from Erwin and I visit him occasionally.
He was indeed a member of the German Armed Forces during WW2 and I own photographs of him in uniform and also some copies of his decoration certificates.
He won’t win any medals for his spelling and often uses a German word when speaking.
Please remember he is approaching 85 years old and he amazes me that he has learned to use a computer.
He has many interesting stories to tell and you can read some of them in Gordon Williamsons book “Loyalty is My Honor”.
So, “Hans Kurzen”, and what’s your part in this? Your user-name sounds strikingly common german as well. What’s your story, what made you end up in Scotland?
Hi,
my part in this is that Erwin is a personal friend of mine.I was born and bred in Scotland long after WW2 had finished.
Gordon Williamsons book is available on the net (I have no connections with him) and I mention it as a quick and simple way to verify Erwins claims of involvement in WW2.It was first printed at least 10 years ago.
On Friday,I set up Erwins computer for Skype.Perhaps you would like to invite him to a conversation and decide for yourself on his authenticity.
Yes yes. how did you end up in Scotland?
My Grandparents and family arrived in Scotland in the 1930s.
Why don’t you do this. Set up an interview with Erwin using the webcam that you must have set up for skype. Record the interview and post the video clip here (or on youtube with a link here).
It’s a reasonable request,but depends on a few things
Erwins acceptance,
Sensible questions from interested parties (I don’t qualify)
Getting my 13 year old son to set it up.
There are not many of these guys left,so it’s a great chance to ask some questions
on a side note,I will try to upload a foto of my Scottish Grandfather versus the Japs in Burma 1944.
Well, please try, Hans, and if he’s not too much into the webcam thing it would be a good thing to have him involved here in written form.
A sensible interaction will be taken care of.
It’s a reasonable request,but depends on a few things
Erwins acceptance,
Sensible questions from interested parties (I don’t qualify)
Getting my 13 year old son to set it up.
There are not many of these guys left,so it’s a great chance to ask some questions
on a side note,I will try to upload a foto of my Scottish Grandfather versus the Japs in Burma 1944.[/QUOTE]
I agree. I’m sure that a list of questions could be submitted for Erwin. And he may want to add some additional experiences that mean alot to him. It would be great to have a record of Erwin’s WWII experiences on video for posterity. Similar to what is being done at the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C.
Hi flamethrowerguy
My first post - I too can vouch for Erwin and have had the privilage of personally visiting in his home in Scotland. Erwin speaks native German - of that there is no doubt! At the moment he has a little difficulty in writing because his hand is swollen but I am sure that when he gets over this he will be an invaluable source of information. He is mentioned as a source in several publications about ww2.
memeler
I’ve joined this forum today specifically after doing a google search on my friend Erwin and seeing all this.
I’m 38 and Scottish born and bred.
I’ve known Erwin for about 5 years after meeting him through Heinrich Springers Guestbook.
Was quite unbelievable at the time to find a member of the LAH less than 1 hours walk from my home.
Since then i have tried to visit Erwin once per month when possible as i have moved further away.
The explanation of why he lives in Scotland is that he was a POW here and was a Berliner and off course was’nt going to go back to Soviet Sector on release and he also married a Scots girl too.I think he was released in 48 and he became a British Citizen in 55 i believe.
Sadly his wife passed away a couple of years ago.
Erwin welcomes discussion on his experiences.
But i don’t think the webcam thing will ever happen unless someone sets it up for him.
With respect to his computer skills’ i’d think he’d be the first to admit that he uses it for surfing websites that interest him and printing pictures and articles and for email and thats as far as it goes.However he has had problems with his hand recently thats got in the way recently of even these activities.
For the record he has the
Iron Cross 2nd Class
Wound Badge in Black
Infantry Assault Badge
The Eastern Front Medal
And ended the war as an Unterscharfuhrer.
As previously mentioned read Gordon Williamsons “Their Honour was Loyalty” for some of his memoirs!
He’s a great guy and i’m very honoured and pleased to have met him and to be able to call him a friend.
Dave McQueen
Hans Kurzen, Memeler or Kameraden.
How did Erwin end up in Scotland?
He posted earlier that he was in Russia from 1941 to the end of the war, so he must have been taken prisoner. When and where was he released and how did he get to Scotland?
Hello
Well first of all I just want to say that I don’t mind filling in a few blanks about Erwin.
But I feel uncomfortable about talking about him rather than you talking to Erwin himself and him making the choice about talking about his life etc.Like I said in my earlier post Erwin seems to welcome discussion on his experiences and opinions.
But I think it fair for him and not others to tell you about them.
Briefly and to the best of my knowledge.
Erwin was 17 when he joined the Leibstandarte in May 41.
So it was’nt until Autumn that he was shipped to the Eastern Front.
Fought till the LAH was sent to France for refit 42.
Back to the Eastern Front Jan 43 fighting at Kharkov etc.
Wounded at Kursk July 43.
After this Erwin was sent back home to recover from his wounds and after that went back to Berlin as an Instructor.
He never went back to the front after that and never rejoined the LAH in the field again.
As the Russians approached Berlin April-May 45 Erwin got the hell outta dodge and made his way around Berlin over several days along with others and managed to surrender to the Americans.
His adventures along the way and subsequent capture’interrogations are quite hard to picture in your mind.
Some of the stories are very funny’but others are horrifying.
I believe he ended up in a POW camp in Belgium and was then shipped back to the UK and the rest is History.
You’d be suprised how many Ex Waffen-SS men live here.Werner Busse of the Frundsberg Division lived in Inverness and passed away only a couple of months ago.Also in the newspapers here a couple of weeks ago there was a story of an Ex Hitler Youth Division member and his Scottish wife celebrating their 60th Anniversary.
They’d met their life partners here and what were they going back to in the late 40’s? A Germany with ruined cities and under occupation(Especially in the not so friendly Soviet and French sectors)and even the general population probably did’nt have a great fondness for Ex-SS men at the time.So you can see how they’d end up here and choose to stay here.
Dave
At #505 on page 34 of this thread, Erwin said in his first post
hallo my name is erwin bartmann and i live in scotland.i am intresting in world war 2 then i was from 1941 till the end of war in russia.i was in the batle of kursk and was woudet.
How could he be in Russia till the end of the war when he returned to Germany in 1943; never went back to the front; and was in Berlin at the end of the war?
Obviously he could’nt be in Russia until the end of the war as the germans were’nt in Russia in 45.
Erwins English is’nt fantastic as you read from his post and he’s having a job typing at the moment due to his hand trouble.
Thats why i have explained for him as best i can.
He was “detained” as he came out of hospital and sent over to England,then Scotland.A POW until I think 1947,lived in Edinburgh but travelled through to Glasgow each day to work as a baker.
He became a British subject in 1955.
NOTE TO ERWIN,START TYPING.
Hello,
I guess I’m supposed to post in this thread to “introduce” myself! I just joined your forum today. This is actually my second post on here.
I am writing a military history for my Father who served in the U.S. Army in WWII. He was in the 96th Division, 382d Infantry, Company E and was an automatic rifleman (B.A.R.). He was wounded on Okinawa on May 16, 1945 in the battle for “Dick Right” on the Shuri line. His recovery (physical) took 15 months of surgeries in military hospitals.
My Father is still alive (88 years old), healthy, and active. He has had problems from the affects of his injuries throughout his life, but I’ve never heard him complain. He, of course, is a Purple Heart recipient and also was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery.
I’m hoping to find some great pictures on this website that will add to the history I’m writing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks !!!