WWII Veteran Interview

Interviewing: Barry Meier, son of John Meier, a WWII veteran

Me: Was your father, John, drafted or did he enlist?

Barry:  He enlisted in the war in 1941 right after high school.

Me: Where was he living at the time?

Barry:  He was living in Detroit, Michigan.

Me: Where was he positioned in WWII?

Barry: He was positioned in Italy in combat.

Me:  Where was he captured?

Barry: He was captured in Italy, and was taken to a concentration/work camp in Northern Poland.

Me: When he was captured, what was his experience?

Barry: In the concentration camp, they beat him and starved him. They tortured him while his was doing forced labor. Instead of killing him though they sent him through a death march, where he walked for almost two months until Americans found him. He was one of few to survive. They sent him through a death march because they knew they were going to lose the war and were trying to have prisoners that were alive to make a bargaining chip when the settlement came.

Me: Did he earn any medals or citations?

Barry: He earned the Prisoner of War Medal and a bronze star.

Me: What was it like for him to return home?

Barry: When he came home he was only 80 pounds, and was 5’ 8”. It took a while to adjust to being home and to not be always being undercover.

Me: Did he go to school after the war, or get a job? If a job, what job?

Barry: He got a job, and he worked for his father at his father’s camera shop called Meier Camera.

Me: Overall, how did the war change him as a person and his outlook on life?

Barry: It changed my dad forever. He had a very strong belief that America was a great society and that he was fighting for the rights of all Americans, and everything America did was right. But when I was young, I saw America doing the wrong things, so unfortunately I lost touch with my father for a long time because of our differentiating beliefs. Now looking back and realize how sad that period was because my father was the strongest and most courageous man I will ever know. He was a great guy, passionate and loving. I miss him. He was definitely changed in the war with all the pain and suffering he went through, but he knew that what happened was for his country so he moved on the best he could. My dad was a fighter, and he fought forever, for the country and his family.