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 Sgt.
Paul Priwer, son of Mrs. Fred Priwer, 1916 Washington st, a paratrooper
stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, recently wrote his parents that Sonja
Henie, an honorary colonel in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
of which Sgt. Priwer is a member, served as jump master, for the group
in a recent demonstration staged near Frankfurt.
Sgt. Priwer enlisted in the cavalry in November 1937, and received his
basic training at Ft Meade [MD] He was sent to the Philippine Islands
in 1938 and served there two and one-half years. Following his return
from the islands he was sent to Camp Davis, N.C., where he spent two
years as an instructor prior to enlisting in the paratroopers. He received
his paratrooper training at Ft. Benning, Ga, and was sent overseas in
February, 1945, seeing service in France as well as Germany.
First Lt. Wayne F. Priwer, a brother of Sgt. Priwer, was killed in action
in France on July 17, 1944.
[Source: Unknown newspaper]
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 Wyandotte
Skytrooper Has Many Adventures in Reich
A story, faintly reminiscent of
an old movie serial thriller, was disclosed recently when Lieut. William
H. Gyami, Jr. of Wyandotte. returned to the United States.
Captured during the battle of the Belgian bulge, he and a group of
comrades were forced to march from December 28 to February 20 to reach
a prison camp. In this camp the prisoners were fed grass soup and a
loaf of bread made of sawdust. Each load fed 10 men. The
coffee was made of acorns. This repast was served every 24 hours.
In the latter part of March, the tank columns of General Patton drove
a spearhead through the German lines and liberated some of the prisoners.
The hilarious men rode the tanks out of the camp. But again fate
stepped in and the tank on which Lieutenant Gyami was riding was knocked
out and he and a buddy had to trudge through German territory.
Forced by hunger to look for food, the Yanks found a group of Russian
slave laborers at work, they finally took a chance and went down
to look for food. But there was a spy in the group and he turned
them in.
Again prisoners they were returned to the camp once more where they
remained until the first of April.
With the approach of Allied forces the prisoners were forced to march
for 30 days always keeping a few miles ahead of the advancing forces
of their countrymen. Seizing an opportunity the lieutenant and
a buddy slipped away one night and hid in a forest to wait for the conquering
armies. After remaining in hiding two days they heard the
tanks rumbling in the distance and went down to the road to join the
Americans.
That was on May 2, and marked the end of 125 days of as harrowing experiences
the mind of any novelist could conceive --- stamping as true the old
axiom that "truth is stranger than fiction."
Lieutenant Gyami is spending a 60-day furlough in Wyandotte with his
wife, Mrs. Ruby Gyami, daughter Ruby Ann, and his parents Mr., and Mrs.
William H. Gyami, Sr.
In addition to wearing three major battle stars on his ETO ribbon,
the lieutenant holds the Purple Heart medal and three presidential citations.
He has also been recommended for the Silver Star.
[Miami Daily
News-Record (Miami, Oklahoma) · Sun, Jun 24, 1945 · Page 12]
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