Other high-ranking German officials, men who had good reason to fear that they would be charged with war crimes, were hiding in the mountains. Speirs was told by the D.P.s [Displaced Persons] about a man who had been the Nazi head of the slave labor camps in the area and had committed a great many atrocities. He investigated, asked questions, and became convinced they were telling the truth. Further investigation revealed that this man was living on a small farm nearby.
Speirs called in 1st Sergeant Lynch. He explained the situation, then gave his order: “Take Moone, Liebgott, and Sisk, find him, and eliminate him.”
Lynch gathered the men, explained the mission, got a weapons carrier, and took off up the mountain. During the trip, Moone thought about his predicament. He was sure that Captain Speirs did not have the authority to order an execution based on testimony from the D.P.s. But Speirs was the company C.O. [Commanding Officer] and Moone was just an enlisted man carrying out an order. He decided, “I’m not complying with this bullshit. If someone has to do the shooting, it won’t be me.”
They got to the farm and without a struggle took the Nazi prisoner. Liebgott interrogated him for thirty minutes, then declared there could be no doubt, this was the man they wanted, and he was guilty as charged. The Americans pushed the man at gunpoint to the weapons carrier, then drove off. Lynch stopped beside a ravine. They prodded the man out of the vehicle. Liebgott drew his pistol and shot him twice.
The prisoner began screaming. He turned and ran up the hill. Lynch ordered Moone to shoot him.
”You shoot him,” Moone replied. “The war is over.”
Skinny Sisk stepped forward, leveled his M-1 at the fleeing man, and shot him dead.
Source:
Ambrose, Stephen Edward. “The Soldier’s Dream Life.” Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004. 276-77. Print.
Further Reading:
No comments, yet...