Army Secretary Responds to Request for Official Recognition from Reps. Baca, Bachus

Washington, DC – This week, Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) and Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) announced that the Department of the Army will honor a group of American soldiers held as prisoners of war at a Nazi work camp in Berga during World War II.  The Army intends to recognize the Berga survivors and their deceased comrades at the annual Berga survivors’ meeting, held this year on June 5-6, in Orlando, Florida. 

With the support of Rep. Bachus, Rep. Baca introduced H.R. 883 in December of 2007.  The Congressional resolution honored the heroic service and sacrifices of 350 American soldiers who were detained at the Nazi camp at Berga, Germany, during World War II.  In November of 2008, Baca and Bachus sent a joint Congressional letter to Army Secretary Pete Geren, asking the Department of the Army to consider an official honor for the Berga veterans. 

The Congressmen received an initial response letter from the Army in December of 2008, stating that a review process would take place to determine an appropriate way to honor the heroism and sacrifice of these soldiers.  They received a follow-up letter from Army Secretary Pete Geren earlier this year, detailing the recognition ceremonies.

“I am pleased to know the Army is bestowing this long-overdue recognition to the U.S. soldiers held at Berga,” said Rep. Baca.  “The courage and perseverance these men demonstrated in enduring such inhumane conditions is awe inspiring.  The survivors of Berga, and all those who perished in that terrible ordeal, deserve the thanks of a grateful nation - and I am proud to have helped facilitate this recognition.”

Congressman Spencer Bachus said of the soldiers, “Their story is an integral part of the history of World War II, and their conduct under the most extreme and trying conditions is an enormous credit to themselves and their country.  This is particularly special to me because one of my constituents, Wallace Carden of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, is a Berga survivor.”

During the Battle of the Bulge, Nazi troops sent 350 captured U.S. soldiers to the Berga camp in Germany.  Many were selected on the basis that they were Jewish or looked Jewish.  The soldiers labored under inhumane conditions.  Over 100 soldiers either perished at Berga or during a forced march connected to it, the highest number of American fatalities at any German camp.  Today, only 13 survivors of the Berga camp remain alive.  They are spread throughout the country - in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and New York.

“In an era filled with too much bickering and political rhetoric - the American soldiers at Berga show us what love of country and loyalty to comrades really means,” concluded Rep. Baca.  “I am proud to work with my colleague Spencer Bachus, to ensure the patriotism of these heroes will never be forgotten.”

Rep. Baca is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with both the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions from 1966-68.  Reps. Baca and Bachus have both been invited to take part in the scheduled June ceremony in Orlando.