Arthur Winters: 3 Time Purple Heart Veteran

My husband's name is Arthur L. Winters. He is 88 years old and now uses a cane. He is a WWII decorated war hero with the First Infantry.

My husband’s name is Arthur L. Winters. He is 88 years old and now uses a cane. He is a WWII decorated war hero with the First Infantry. He was wounded in action 3 times, one wound so severe in his arm and shoulder that it caused an aneurysm. This aneurysm was operated on while he was a POW by a French and Polish doctor, and we are in the process now of trying to get those records, as my husband has a card from that French doctor. These doctors were also POW’S. He served in the infantry from 1941-45. He was a POW over 2 yrs in Germany & Italy and N. Africa.

He was captured in N. Africa. He was picked up by Germans because he was left wounded and bleeding on the ground when everyone abandoned the position on Djebel Berta Hill in N. Africa.

He suffered greatly in the POW camp. In Jan of 1945 when the Russians were closing on on the Germans he had to march from Frosenberg to Luchenwald Germany in a snow blizzard with no shelter, no food, and one time on the 3rd day of marching SS troops on motorcycles fired on American POW’S who were relieving themselves in the fields off the road, killing and wounding many of them. At night when everyone stopped for a rest or sleep, some were fortunate and could sleep in a barn. Others slept on the ground. Some of the men froze to death. This walk was from Stalag 3B to Stalag 3A and took 7 days and nights. From this he got horrendous frozen feet and traumatic arthritis, which to this day affect his quality of life and the way he walks and the pain is almost constant.

On April 22, 1945 the Russian army entered the camp and we were free from the Germans but under the control of the Russian army.

From the aneurysm in his arm and shoulder he does not have complete mobility of the arm and suffers pain.

Arthur L. and Regina Winters.

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