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Re: Once Foes, Now Friends

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: September 18, 2003

"Foes 60 years ago now longtime friends


By TENA LEE
The Hendersonville Star News

WWII brought them together at camp in France

HENDERSONVILLE — Almost 60 years after saying goodbye to a young prisoner of war under his charge, Hendersonville resident George Bruce still corresponds with the former Nazi soldier whom he came to love like a brother.

He and Tony Horn of Gammertingen, Germany, continue to exchange letters. Bruce received the most recent one in the mail about a week ago.

''He was one of the finest boys you ever met,'' Bruce, 88, said of Horn. ''He wouldn't lie to you, and if he thought there was something you should know, he'd tell you. You could depend on him.''

A mechanic in civilian life, Bruce, then 28, quickly was put to use when he entered the Army in 1943. He went to Army motor school while going through basic training at Camp Wheeler in Macon, Ga. Then he found out the school was being closed.

''I said, 'Look out, Europe, here I come,' '' said Bruce, a Nashville native. With his Browning automatic rifle, Bruce headed to France and Germany to fight the Nazis during World War II.

When fighting ended, Bruce was sent to ''Camp Chicago,'' a makeshift U.S. Army depot in France about 100 miles from Paris. ''It was like an Army base, but it was all tents,'' Bruce said. ''There was a company stationed there, and they had a lot of German prisoners.''

Bruce, a private first class, became the camp's parts sergeant, charged with receiving automobile parts and distributing them. Twenty-seven prisoners of war worked for Bruce.

Horn, a teenager who could type and speak English, was among them.

Bruce last saw Horn as the camp was closing just before Christmas 1944. Horn stayed to help Bruce dispose of parts and tie up loose ends.

The two exchanged addresses and then wrote letters for a while, but then Horn's letters stopped coming.

Bruce later learned that Horn's parents had died and his sister was given the family home. The sister eventually passed along Bruce's letters and he started writing again.

As his command of English started declining, a friend named Iris began translating for Horn.

Over the years, Bruce has noticed that Horn shies away from memories of that time in his country. He writes about gardening, household chores and family — his wife, Anita, two daughters and a grandson.

''He didn't want to hear about Camp Chicago,'' Bruce said. ''He quit writing about it.

''I said, 'I know you don't want to read this,' but I kept him informed anyway.'' And the letters kept coming.

At one point when Bruce asked Iris how Tony was doing, Iris wrote, ''In the U.S. he'd probably be called a millionaire.'' Horn had started a sweater factory and at one point was shipping sweaters all over the world.

Bruce said he kept writing the letters ''because I thought so much of him. If I could have, I would've made him my brother.''

The last letter that he received was about a week ago. Horn recently retired and travels back and forth to a home in Switzerland.

Bruce had planned a trip in 2000 to see his old friend, but it had to be canceled when Bruce's wife of 63 years, Anne, had a stroke.

Although they have not seen each other in almost 60 years, their friendship continues. It is the friendship of two men who are not all that different, really.

''He was doing what I was doing,'' Bruce said. ''He was fighting for his country. But — unlike me — he was forced to do it.''

Tena Lee is a reporter for The Hendersonville Star News. Reach her at 824-8480 or at hsnnews@mtcngroup.com.

© Copyright 2003 The Tennessean"