9 May 1945

9 May 1945 US Navy liberation of American prisoners on Jersey

Editorial note: Later US Navy press account, issued 16 May with a 15 May dateline. Captivity descriptions are collective testimony and not all specifically attributable to John L. Page.

The liberated sailors described medical treatment and hospital care with few complaints, although bandages were reused. Their principal complaint was insufficient food, chiefly cabbage soup and dark bread. Local Red Cross parcels had been stopped after an escape attempt by two US Army officers. Islanders passed news in notes, with crystal radios supplying information. Page praised an American colonel among the prisoners for defending their rights. These recollections concern the prisoners collectively and are not all separately attributed to Page. [I page 633]

On 9 May the German guards withdrew and were restricted to barracks. Civilians led by the town’s bailiff escorted the Allied prisoners to Jersey’s Ommaroo Hotel, spelled Ommeroo in the release. British personnel arrived by tug that afternoon. The men were taken first to Granville, then to Cherbourg for hospital care. The release describes them as averaging ten pounds underweight but otherwise recovered from battle wounds. [I pages 631 and 633]

US Navy. US Naval Forces in Europe, release 32 dated 16 May 1945, Missing US Sailors Found on Channel Islands, source set I, pages 631 and 633. Supplied compilation: Jersey Convoy Action 13 to 14 August 1944.docx. Set letters and page or screenshot numbers refer to that compilation.