Central Texas WWII Veteran Recalls Time In Prison Camp

HEWITT, TX ( FOX 44 ) – Morris Barker may be 99 years old — with his 100th-birthday coming in January, but he vividly recalls his time as an Army Air Corp tail gunner being shot down in combat and then spending a harrowing several months in prison camps in Germany.

A look at Morris Barker in 1943 when he was inducted into military service, joining the Army and later transferring to the Army Air Corps. Morris Barker today, holding a model of a B-24 Liberator, where he served as a tail gunner.

"I trained down in South Texas and then I was stationed down in Italy with the 15th Air Force, bombing various targets throughout Europe – German targets throughout Europe," Barker said. He vividly recalls a day – at his tail gunner post on his B-24 Liberator that changed his life forever.

"August 2nd, 1944, I was flying a mission from Italy to Vienna, Austria and we were shot down by three German ME 109s and was taken as a Prisoner of War for the next nine months," Barker recalled. "We were attacked by three German ME-109s. They hit our number two engine. The pilot and the engineer were both killed by this. The plane was on fire. We were able to delivery – we were able to bail out at 30-thousand feet. We were, of course, taken prisoner of war at that time by the Germans."

He vividly remembers his time as a prisoner of war.

"Our prison camp was Stalag Luf 4 up on the Baltic. The prison camp was divided up into four different stations," Barker said. "I was in section three, and was a prisoner there until the British started moving in, and the Germans didn't want to us to get liberated so they moved us – started marching us for three months, sleeping in barns and outside, and then liberated by the British."

Barker recalls also being liberated by American troops, and the trip home to the United States. "We were liberated and they took us into France and put us on a ship and took us into New York. They took us on down to San Antonio on a freight train," Barker reminisced. "They then gave us a furlough, and I had to report back. I was stationed at Fort Worth – Fort Worth Air Base and headquarters there until I had enough points to be relieved."

As much as Morris Barker remembers his World War II service, he's also grateful for celebrating Veterans day in 2024.

"I do want to thank all the Veterans for serving our country for sure as we had to do during World War II," Barker said.