Title: Walter Francis Larson's bound diary

Identifier: 0090-b1-fb   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/90188)

Description: Sergeant Walter Larson was shot down over Calais, France, on February 28, 1944, and captured by German military forces before being imprisoned in German-occupied Lithuania. During his time as a prisoner of war, Larson kept a diary detailing the events that he and his fellow prisoners experienced. Following the war, Larson compiled his loose-leaf diary into this work, which recalls his time as a prisoner of war. The diary contains descriptions of the five phases of Sergeant Larson's imprisonment, including capture and processing, descriptions of the daily routine at Stalag Luft 6, transferal to another camp (including the Heidekruge death run), and life at the new camp Stalag Luft 4. The final section of the diary again concerns movement away from the approaching Russian forces. This time the move was made on foot and covered seventy-nine days and a distance of 603 miles. At the end of the long march, Sergeant Larson and his fellow prisoners of war were liberated by American forces. Entries are only written on odd numbered pages. Sections of blank pages after page 73 were not digitized.