Veteran Spotlight: Brad Holmes

Wayne Soares — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 10:22:05 -0400

Brad Holmes is a proud member of The Greatest Generation, still possessing a strong handshake and an amazing memory. The (96) year old served his country in the United States Army as a private and was also spent over a year in a German Prisoner of War Camp after being captured at The Battle of The Bulge. He was initially sent to Fort Devens, then to a variety of other camps; Croft in South Carolina, Shelby in Mississippi, Atterbury in Indiana, Myles Standish in Taunton, MA, finally ending up in New York where he and hundreds of other soldiers boarded The Queen Elizabeth II to head to Torrington, England. “They shipped us through The English Channel into Belgium and France….snow was on the ground and it was pretty tough to dig a foxhole” he continued. “We were up on the front lines near the Ardennes Forest….been up there for about two weeks and it’s quiet….then, there was gunfire…..bullets flying everywhere…..dove right by a dead cow for cover…..never forget those “Screaming Mimi’s” (88’s).

The damn Germans didn’t stick to the rules…..around Christmas time and New Year’s we got captured….we were in a wooded area…..told us to unload our guns, then break’em…..they searched us for anything valuable and lined us up on the road…..they were quite rough with us…..made us march about ten miles to a boxcar, which they put us in….the RAF came over at night and bombed, not knowing we were inside……told the guys we’d be fine as long as we don’t get a direct hit…..some guys couldn’t take it and ran out at night” he said as his voice trailed off and got quiet. Private Holmes continued. “The Germans went out and took clothes & stuff, whatever they thought was of value, from our dead soldiers…..took us to a prison camp……thousands of prisoners from different nationalities were there. They were looking for volunteers for a work detail….figured it was better than staying at the camp……marched us (15) miles and gave us burlap bags and told us to fill them with straw…..that’s what we were sleeping on” he remembered.

As one can expect, the work of a POW was exceptionally grueling. “The Germans put us to work in a furniture factory….worked all day in the woods carrying logs…..it was a damn killer……never fed us anything but turnip and carrot soup and it was terrible….locked us up in the 2nd floor of the factory and took our shoes so we wouldn’t try to escape….sometimes you were so weak that you had to crawl up the stairs on your hands and knees” he recalled. I asked Private Holmes if it was worse as a POW as far of the holidays were concerned and I received a painful reply of, “Oh yeah…..non-existent.” When the Germans heard to Russians were moving swiftly, Private Holmes and other POW’s were moved closer to the Czech border. Then the day finally came. “We could hear planes….I went outside and saw one of our planes swoop down….he was so close I waved to him and he actually waved back….he then went to a line of trucks and strafed them….BOOM! They were gone….all the German guards just kind of melted away and disappeared….they knew the jig was up” he said seriously.

After all Private Holmes had been through, he still felt the need to act as a decent human being. “The German people were taking to the streets with their belongings in carts….you could see people for miles and miles…there was a German woman pulling her cart…..I saw that she was struggling….she had a little baby…..I helped her pull her cart…..she wanted to give me some of the baby’s milk…..told her I didn’t want her baby’s milk….saw a jeep coming at me….big sign on the front that said “Press Corps” I said to myself, the Americans aren’t too far behind.”

Private Holmes’ exit from Germany was quick and succinct. “They put us in an A C-47….kind of plane they carried paratroopers in…..took us to Camp Lucky Strike in St. Valery, France….gave us new clothes and burned our old ones……we had been wearing the same one’s for months and months….gave us big canisters of egg nog….came home on a navy ship and slept on a hammock” he remembered. His final thoughts on service? “I did the best job I could and what I was assigned to do. I was proud to serve my country” he said. Private Brad Holmes, thank you for your service to our great country.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 6 at 2021 1:31 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 13:31:10 -0400

He was lucky he survived. Some POWs died due to hunger, torture, or outright executions. Near the end of the war the allied air forces had air superiority and was close to air supremacy, but the Germans had the ME-262 we still had to contend with, but there was no chance the ME-262s would turn the air war around. We engaged the Germans on the ground and from the air. It was just a matter of time the allied forces would become victorious.

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Jul 6 at 2021 8:39 PM

CPL Douglas Chrysler — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 20:39:20 -0400

Salute.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2021 6:24 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 06:24:33 -0400

God Bless Pvt. Holmes.

Response by SFC Greg Bruorton made Jul 13 at 2021 2:52 PM

SFC Greg Bruorton — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:52:36 -0400

That is a superb wrap on Brad Holmes and the horrors he endured. The story is a gripper and thanks for sharing it with us.

Response by Capt Gregory Prickett made Jul 15 at 2021 6:41 AM

Capt Gregory Prickett — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 06:41:25 -0400

I believe that he was part of the 106th Infantry Division. Two of their regiments were cut off, surrounded, and had to surrender at the start of the Bulge, and many were housed at Stammlager (Stalag) IV-B. Kurt Vonnegut was with the 106th and was also housed at IV-B.

The remainder of the division, reinforced by the 112th Infantry (from the 28ID, PA ARNG) held the line at St. Vith and played a major part in slowing the Germans down.

Response by MAJ Byron Oyler made Jul 16 at 2021 6:27 PM

MAJ Byron Oyler — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 18:27:55 -0400

If he was captured DEC of '44 and the war ended six months later, how did he spend over a year as a POW?

Response by SPC David Batterson made Jul 23 at 2021 3:49 PM

SPC David Batterson — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 15:49:29 -0400

I salute you, Pvt. Holmes. Thanks for your service.

Response by Sgt Eric Nelson made Jul 25 at 2021 6:55 AM

Sgt Eric Nelson — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 06:55:43 -0400

A good example of the many who make that generation great. God bless them all

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 2 at 2021 7:47 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 19:47:43 -0400

May God Bless You Private Holmes for your Service to Our Country.