"For you, the war is over...": American POW makes secret radio
In this blog, Walt Williams, a non-magician serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, is shot down over Germany. Captured and sent to Stalag Luft 17B, he makes a secret radio to keep his fellows POWs informed about the world outside the wire. Later, he discovers a magic book in the camp library, which inspires him to become a magician after the war, an interest in which he achieves notable success.
In July 1942, not long after America entered World War Two, Walter F. Williams, Jr. (1922 - 2013), joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. After completing 14-months of training to qualify as an enlisted (or non-commissioned) aircrew-man for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, he shipped over to England to join the fight against Germany and the Axis Powers.
Assigned to the 324th Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy), in the Eighth Air Force, Williams was part of a 10-man B-17 crew. His initial few months of bombing missions proceeded without significant incidents. Then, on 31st December 1943, a near disaster happened:
"After dropping our bombs and heading home, the combination of heavy flak and fighters, and the heavy damage we sustained, forced us to drop from formation over the [English] channel."
The B-17 was forced to crash-land on a rugby field in Runnymede, Surrey. Although shaken, the crew all survived, but the aircraft was written-off.
Ritzy Blitz B-17 Flying Fortress (42-29487)
(Source: Public domain)
After a week or so to recuperate, the crew were allocated a replacement aircraft, called the Ritzy Blitz. Viewed as a lucky aircraft by the unit, the Ritzy Blitz had already clocked up 48 missions. The crew's next mission was a daytime bombing raid on 11th January, 1945. The target was an aircraft factory at Oschersleben, deep in Germany, between Hanover and Leipzig. The factory was one of three targets for this huge raid which involved 700 bombers and aimed to destroy the core of Germany's aircraft manufacturing capability.
"Once inside Germany, nearing Hanover, we were attacked. I can still see those German fighters in the distance, like little dots at about one o'clock high, twenty of them ... They came around to twelve o'clock and came straight in attacking the low and high groups. We were flying at 18,000 feet in the low squadron of the lead group and we were second in our group to be hit ... I saw our number one engine burst into flames as we dropped from formation the continuing intense attacks battered the plane and made bailing out almost hopeless."
But, the order to bail out did come and Williams pulled the pin to release the waist door.
"As I kicked the door, the plane must have started a flat spin and the door came back and pinned my leg on the outside of the plane, knocking me to the floor. I was sitting in the doorway, part in and part out and could not push the door off my leg. The plane was going through terrifying gyrations, and at times forced me back flat on the floor of the plane."
Other members of the crew helped Williams come free and he managed to jump out just in time.
"We were so close to the ground that just a few minutes after my chute opened, I saw the plane hit the ground."
Sadly, only five members of the crew managed to bail out of the Ritzy Blitz. The other five perished when the aircraft crashed. They were not the only airmen to die on the raid. Facing 500 German fighters, the U.S. Army Air Corps lost 64 aircraft, one of the greatest numbers of planes lost by the Americans in a single day of the war up to that time. The 91st Bomb Group was later awarded a distinguished unit citation for its actions in that momentous air battle.
Crew of the 'Ritzy Blitz' B-17 Flying Fortress (42-29487)
(Walt Williams, back row, centre)
(Source: Twila Harper)
Williams survived the jump, but hit the ground hard and was knocked unconscious. When he came to, German soldiers had surrounded him, and he would hear the fateful words, "For you, the war is over."
"Little did I realise that I was starting another war, the war of survival in a POW camp. I would have to learn to survive the cold barracks, fleas, lice, malnutrition, and the constant threat that hung over us as to what would happen to us next."
After his capture, Williams was taken to a Dulag Luft (transit camp for captured air force personnel), where the Germans interrogated and processed him, before moving him on to a permanent prisoner-of-war (POW) camp. Williams was sent to Stalag Luft 17B, a camp for enlisted / non-commissioned aircrew, near Krems in Austria. The over-crowded camp housed almost 30,000 POWs, including 4,500 Americans. The memories of life at Stalag Luft 17B haunted Williams for the rest of his life. "The fear, frustration, diet and disease all took their toll, then and now," he wrote some 50 years later.
Stalag Luft 17B
(Source: Public domain)
While imprisoned, Williams came up with a plan to open a window to the outside world.
"One of my major achievements was building a radio. As a young man, I had built a crystal radio and remembering part of what went into that early effort, I decided to see if I could duplicate it."
He befriended an Austrian guard and, over time, laid the groundwork for getting material for the radio. Using cigarettes and chocolate from Red Cross packages, Williams bribed the guard to get him a crystal and one ear piece from a headset. Another POW managed to get hold of a spool of fine copper wire, which Williams bought off him for a quantity of cigarettes. A second piece of wire was obtained to make a 'Cat's Whisker', used to pinpoint the hot spot on the crystal.
Williams secretly ran the copper wire from his bunk-bed up through the barracks roof, to provide an antenna, and down through the floor, to ground the radio. Using a contraband knife, he made a slit in the bunk's vertical support and inserted the antenna wire. The wire ran to the horizontal support and to a small hole in which he'd inserted a receptacle made of wire. He cut two wooden plugs to insert into and hide the receptacle holes, and used brown soap to hide the grooves made in the bunk's wooden supports along which the wires ran.
Cat's Whisker radio detector
(Source: Creative Commons)
When the call for lights out came, Williams would pull out the two wooden plugs, connect the radio, and listen to B.B.C. broadcasts. It took skill and patience to find the signal, but once he'd mastered it, Williams was able to keep his fellow POWs up-to-date on war news. His wasn't the only radio in the camp, but it played a useful role in connecting the prisoners with the outside world. Five months after his capture, in June 1944, the Allies crossed into Western Europe in the Normandy landings. This, and other news provided by Williams, helped lift spirits and create hope that the war and an end to their captivity, were not too far away.
Walter F. Williams, Jr., as a prisoner of war
(Source: Walter F. Williams, Jr.)
Stalag Luft 17B's POWs found some relief from the horrid conditions and brutal treatment in the camp library. At one end of a barrack block, a space had been made for a small library containing books sent to the camp by prisoners' families, the Red Cross, other relief agencies and charities. One of the books there was to change Williams' life.
"Once, while browsing through the library, I came across a book about magicians which brought back memories of my early enjoyment of magic as a very young boy. I must have read that book at least three times over several months, all the while dreaming that when and if I ever get home, I was going to get into this form of entertainment."
In this simple book, Williams found mental escape. The story of magic distracted him from his dire situation and gave him respite from the boredom and horrors of war. Through the book, he was able to craft a vision of a life outside the wire and beyond the war.
"Books were my pass to personal freedom."
Oprah Winfrey
After 13 months incarceration, Williams and thousands of other POWs in Stalag Luft 17B were ordered to evacuate the camp. Soviet forces were nearing Krem and the Germans didn't want their valuable prisoners freed. Instead, starting on 13 April 1945, they forced the malnourished POWs on a 150-mile march west. After 18 days, the bedraggled POWs reached Braunau am Inn on the Austro-German border. But, the Allies were also advancing from the west and, on 3 May 1945, a detachment of General Patton's Third Army found the prisoners and liberated them. Ironically, for the servicemen whose war ended in Braunau, it was the birthplace of Adolf Hitler.
These were momentous times. A few days earlier, on 28 April, Mussolini was executed. Hitler committed suicide on 30 April and, on the 7 May 1945, Germany surrendered. The war in Europe was over.
Walter F. Williams, Jr., in later life
(Source: Family of Walter F. Williams, Jr.)
After his military service, Williams returned to his home state of Ohio to work on a farm near Norwalk. He later worked for a lumber company for 22 years and for a print company for 17 years. Walter also served as a special deputy for the Morrow County Sheriff Department.
Outside of work, and inspired by the magic book he found in the Stalag Luft 17B's library, Williams’ primary interest became magic. While he never choose to be a full-time magician, Walt achieved recognition for the professionalism of his performances.
Such was Williams' commitment to the art of magic, he founded a branch of The International Brotherhood of Magicians (Ring 189, The Knights of Magic) in Galion, Ohio, which he supported until his death. Locally, he became known as the 'First Magician of Galion'.
Walt Williams was appointed to various national roles for the society, such as registration chairman for the annual convention, International Vice-President and, in 1976, he attained the high honour of being appointed as International President for a year, overseeing the organisation's activities in 75 countries.
The International Brotherhood of Magicians' logo
(Source: IBM)
Quoted text taken from 'For You, The War is Over: Stalag 17B - The True Story of a POW', by Walter F. Williams, Jr. (1995).
Another U.S. Army Air Corps POW at Stalag 17B was Lieutenant Ben H. Phelper. After the war he co-authored the Broadway comedy-drama play 'Stalag 17', which was later made into a film. He also helped write the plot to the popular T.V. programme, 'Hogan's Heroes'. The 168-episode show featured a character called Corporal Peter Newkirk, who was the group's conman, magician, pick-pocket, card sharp, and safe cracker, along with other miscellaneous skills.
Related article: 'Sol Stone: Shot down US Army Air Corps navigator uses magic to bring relief to refugees' tells the story of a U.S. Army Air Corps navigator, shot down, who manages to avoid capture and bring joy to refugees in the process. Blog link.
Related article: 'Bush' Parker: The Escapist' (Parts 1 and 2) tells the story of Vincent 'Bush' Parker's capture by the Germans, his early escape attempts and his time at Oflag IVC Colditz. Blog link.
Related article: 'The Magician of Stalag Luft III' (Parts 1, 2 and 3) tells the story of Lieutenant Commander John Casson and how he became the magician of Stalag Luft III, scene of The Great Escape. Blog link.
Related article: 'U.S. Government orders magic books for troops all over the world'. Blog link.
Research supported by The Good Magic Award 2021 from The Good Thinking Society
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Written by the Magic at War team, The Colditz Conjurer is a remarkable tale of perseverance, courage and cunning in the face of adversity. It features over 55 original photographs and maps. 126 pages.
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