A.W. WEBB

The following bio was taken from page 437 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Captain Allen Weldon Webb’s plane was shot down over Lubeck, Germany after a B-17 bombing mission from London to Berlin in August of 1944. He and his crew bailed out and A.W. floated down into a kohlrabi patch. Within minutes he was facing a double-barreled shotgun in the hands of an irate farmer who knew why the young pilot had been sent to Berlin. Soon a German soldier came to march him and his captured crew to an anti-aircraft camp. They were stripped of their watches and valuables and were imprisoned in a dungeon, where they were fed a piece of black bread and margarine at mealtime.

The next day they were taken to an interrogation camp and placed in solitary confinement. A bald German Captain came into A.W.’s cell with a large black book, which he placed on the table. Plainly printed on the cover was the name of A.W.’s bomb group and squadron. The German began to question about what group and squadron he served with, and A.W. refused to answer, as he had been instructed in his training. The German repeated the procedure for three days then announced, "Tomorrow at four o’clock, I will come and you will tell me." At four the next day, A.W. heard heavy steps, but no one came. This was repeated time and again for five days, after which the young pilot would have told anything…. And did on the sixth day of this treatment, although his knowledge was of no value and was not news to his captors. He learned that his crew had told all on the first day and had, therefore, been treated to a warm bath, a shave, and a decent meal.

The men were then moved to Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany where fifty Englishmen had recently been executed for attempting to escape.

There was some comfort in being with other Allied airmen, in spite of the bad food and the insanitary conditons. It was noted that the Germans ate the same rations, indicating their poor position in the war.

One airman seemed unusually friendly, but suspicions were aroused when it was noticed that his dog tags did not conform with regulations numbers. He supposedly escaped after a while.

News of the war on the German airwaves was very depressing for the prisoners, but they were able to put together a secret wireless to get the real news and spead it among the men.

At last the wave of Allied Forces made them free, but they had no place to go and no food to eat. The German people were very hostile, and the Allied forces were too busy fighting a war, so the weary POW’s returned to their prison each night, hungry and tired. Then the trucks came to take them to France to board a ship for HOME.

At home, A.W.’s wife Anna Belle (Threadgill) waited with his young daughter, Cornelia Ann, who had been born while he was held a prisoner. Their baby was five months old and he had not known of her birth in all those months.

The Air Force treated A.W. and his wife to a fabulous ten-day Florida vacation with luxurious accommodations, but W.W. yearned for East Texas the entire time.

Returning to civilian life, A.W. entered into business in East Texas, purchasing variety stores in several towns. He and Anna Belle and their son, Pat, operate from a warehouse in the name of W.W. Wholesale in Henderson.

Another daughter was born to the Webbs, Kathy, who married Walter Toll and lives in Houston. Cornelia married John Harmon, and they have two sons, Jeff and Todd, and a young adopted daughter, Julie. They live and work in Houston. (See Webb and Threadgill family stories)

Submitted by Doris Threadgill