[elcid1970]

G.I.s horrified by what they saw in Dachau gunned down 30 to 50 SS guards. Stateside newspapers bleated, “we’re just as bad as the Nazis!!!”

Those soldiers were brought up on charges by the chain of command, but Gen. George Patton who now commanded that area of occupation, personally dismissed every charge. He had seen Dachau too.

Patton force marched German civilians past the stacks of bodies and then made them bury the dead. Many Germans committed suicide, thinking they were next.

[SES1066]

This hero, now at rest, was probably attached to the 42nd (Rainbow) Infantry Division (ID). The final push into Germany became chaotic as resistance collapsed and battlefronts got tangled. The apparent but disputed 1st outfit to Dachau were units of the 45th ID (Thunderbirds), specifically the 157th Infantry Regiment under the command of Lt.Col. Felix Sparks. As such, he was in command when 'surrendered troops' (SS Guards) were shot by American GIs of the 157th as mentioned in article. The 42nd came in with its Assistant Division Commander Brigadier General Henning Linden, having met with a Swiss Red Cross representative and several Germans claiming to be relief commanders of Dachau and wanting to surrender the camp.

Recommended book on Felix Sparks, retired as Brigadier General and later Colorado State Supreme Court Judge, is Alex Kershaw's "The Liberator". NB: My Dad was 45th HQ Staff and went through Dachau at that time but was only transiting on way to Munich to setup a 157th Command Post. He chose the German Beer Hall that was Hitler's HQ for the November 1923 failed revolt, a fitting reversal.

[Gay State Conservative]

The aggressors always determine how a war is to be fought.If the defenders fail to match their opponents’ tactics they lose.WWII is a war that the civilized world just couldn't afford to lose.