tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475829827879308509.post4669865728107087875..comments2024-02-14T15:13:54.775-05:00Comments on Turonistan: Joseph "Jumpin' Joe" BeyrleTurk Turonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02648721047835980871noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475829827879308509.post-23341052514879351372010-03-04T22:21:16.776-05:002010-03-04T22:21:16.776-05:00That is one hellva story Turk! Thanks!That is one hellva story Turk! Thanks!Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475829827879308509.post-78852512189677751282010-03-04T11:41:18.885-05:002010-03-04T11:41:18.885-05:00When I was at the State Dept., we interviewed John...When I was at the State Dept., we interviewed John Beyrle for an oral history project and he spoke about his father for about ten minutes. That's where I got some of the info in this post. Quite a story!Turk Turonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02648721047835980871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475829827879308509.post-41216366975564023732010-03-04T11:23:41.529-05:002010-03-04T11:23:41.529-05:00Wow, I just finished his memoirs, The Simple Sound...Wow, I just finished his memoirs, <i>The Simple Sounds of Freedom.</i> Quite a story. Jumped into France twice before D-Day as a paymaster for the French Underground.<br />Captured in Normandy, his dog tags were taken by one of his captors, who subsequently was killed wearing an American uniform, but his body was so mutilated it couldn't be identified, thus the mistaken listing as KIA--which was corrected by the International Red Cross, but not every bureaucrat in the Army got the word. <br />After escaping, wound up catching the wrong train, and captured in Berlin by the Gestapo. Almost tortured to death, he was saved at almost the last minute by the Wehrmacht.<br />Escaped again, he made his way East on foot and linked up with the Red Army, in an armor battalion, commanded by a woman in a Sherman tank. Started out as an infantryman for the Russians, was promoted based on his knowledge of radios and demolitions. <br />Liberated the POW Camp he had escaped from.Dranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08082177597135236652noreply@blogger.com