William
Chestnut was in a group of five who were taken prisoner near Etienville
on D-Day. They trekked across France and Germany as they were
taken to a prison camp in Pobershau, Germany..
When they moved through Chartres, France Bill was interviewed by
the infamous "Axis Sally". The radio broadcast provided his family
the first indication that he was alive. |
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, DC
October 15, 1948
Mr.. William R. Chestnut
c/o Georgia-Alabama Paving Company
Newberry, South Carolina
Dear Mr., Chestnut:
Re: United States vs. Mildred
E. Sisk, also
known as Mildred
Elizabeth Gillars
In accordance with the understanding had
following your appearance as a grand jury witness in the above stated
matter and prior to your departure from Washington, D.C., there is
enclosed a check of the United States Marshall for the District of
Columbia payable to your order in the sum of $150.00.
This amount, calculated at the rate of
$15 per day is being paid to you as recompense for the time devoted by
you in connection with the investigation of the instant case over and
above the time normally requited of a Government witness, the fees for
which you have been hereto paid at the statutory rate of $5 per day.
It will be appreciated if you will
immediately acknowledge receipt of this letter and at the same time
notify Mr. John M. Kelley, Jr., of my staff, Room 2724, department of
Justice, Washington, D.C. of your exact present address and, in the
future, notify him immediately following any change of address.
Respectfully
for the Attorney General
/s/ ALEXANDER M. CAMPBELL
Assistant Attorney General |
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Mildred Gillars (Bureau of
Prisons ID photo)
Gillars in her holding cell
while she awaited her verdict |
In the case of THE UNITED STATES vs. MILDRED
ELIZABETH SIS AKA MILDRED ELIZABETH GILLARS, the woman who had
called her broadcasts as "Midge at the mike" was tried for
treason.
Born in Portland Main in 1900 she was reviled by the G.I.'s and had
been dubbed by them as "Axis Sally" for her work as an
propagandist announcer with the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft
(RRG), German State Radio.
Gillars was indicted on September 10, 1948, and charged with 10
counts of treason but only eight were proceeded with at her
trial which began on January 25, 1949.
On March 10, 1949, the jury convicted Gillard on just one count of
treason, that of making the ‘Vision Of Invasion’
broadcast. She was sentenced to 10-to-30 years in prison and a
$10,000 fine.
Gillars served her sentence at the Federal Reformatory for Women in
Alderson, West Virginia. She became eligible for parole in 1959
but did not apply until 1961 She was released on June 10, 1961.
Mildred Gillars died at Grant Medical Center in Columbus in 1988,
diagnosed with colon cancer and is buried in an unmarked grave
in the Holy Family section, lot 570 of Saint Joseph Cemetery,
Lockbourne (Franklin County), Ohio.
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