For Memorial Day: A Special Reunion

Mon, 25 May 2009 05:00:00

For Memorial day: a special reunion

Steve Barry has a story of survival and gratitude for the American troops who liberated him during World War II.

Steve is Jewish and was sent from Hungary to the notorious Bergen-Belsen camp. He soon was loaded, along with 2,500 other starving Jews, on a train. The train became stranded in the middle of fierce fighting. Soon Steve's captors left, but the passengers were weak, and there was nowhere for them to go, so they stayed with the train hoping for a miracle.

Carroll Walsh

Steve will never forget the day he saw the first tank stop to help. The unit of soldiers included American Carroll Walsh. The two men tell Dick Gordon about their experiences during the war, and about the newspaper article that brought them together 62 years later.

See photos of the train and survivors. In Photo 8, Steve Barry is the "living skeleton" in the background of the scene. The photos were taken by tank commander George Gross
Check out classroom project and Web site that brought the men together
Learn more about the train near Magdeburg
Music in this story: Shalom Aleichem performed by Andy Statman and David Grisman for the album Songs of Our Fathers; Schindler's List performed by John Williams for the album The Ultimate Guitar Collection.

The Story from American Public Media - For Memorial Day: A Special Reunion

For Memorial Day: A Special Reunion

For Memorial day: a special reunion