THE RUHR RIVER VALLEY
To this valley they say we are going,
They will greet us with bushels of flak;
You'll remember the Ruhr River Valley,
If your lucky enough to get back.
Come and fly with our group if you want to,
Don not stall out or straggle behind;
But remember the Focke-Wulf 190;
Stalag Luft is a mighty tough grind.
Pull your head down inside of your flak suit,
Screw your helmet down over your ears,
For those black puffs of smoke are reminders,
That the Goons have been shooting for years.
When the RAF and the Yanks hold reunion,
In a place that was once called "Big B";
We will all toss our wings in the Danube,
And go home where we all long to be.
When the Forts and the Libs have been pensioned,
And our days in the sky reach their end,
We will all go to He** in formation;
Then we know you'll be there, "Little Friend".
Big Friend,
Davey-Mac
These lyrics written to the tune of "Remember The Red River Valley" were composed by a B-17 pilot in Stalag Luft III in 1944. The only name available to my memory is "Davey-Mac". Davey-Mac wrote these words as a tribute to the fighter escort pilots that he remembered so fondly from the missions he had flown over occupied Europe. Now, fifty-five years later, some of the words and phrases that were in common use in 1944 may need to be explained:
- The Ruhr River Valley in Germany was the very heart of Hitler's heavy war industry. As such it was defended by more anti-aircraft weapons than any other single target.
- "Flak" was the name given to the anti-aircraft charges that exploded and distributed the steel shrapnel that destroyed many aircraft and killed and wounded thousands of airmen even at altitudes of up to 35,000 feet. It was often said that over the Ruhr it was almost thick enough to get outand walk on.
- "Stalag Luft" was the name given to the Prisoner of War camps operated by the German Luftwaffe for Allied flyers.
- "Flak Suit" was simply body armor, and the helmet was similar to those worn by ground troops.
- "Goons" was a derogatory term used by Allied airmen to describe any German in military uniform.
- "Big B" was, of course, the commonly used nickname for Berlin.
- "The Forts and "The Libs" are shortened names for the most famous USAAF bombers of the war, the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator.
YOU SAID IT
Here we are at Stalag III,
Drinking in the bar;
With lovely girls to pour our drinks,
Like Bloody He** we are.
We traveled here in a hurry,
The whole trip for a quid.
A sleeping berth for each of us
Like Bloody He** we did.
Our feather beds are two feet deep
The carpets almost new
In easy chairs we sit all day
Like Bloody He** we do.
The goons are really wizard chaps
Their hopes of victory good
We'd change them places any day
Liek Bloody He** we would.
When winter comes and snows around
And temperatures at nil
We'll find hot stoves awaiting us
Like Bloody He** we will.
It's heaven on earth at Stalag III
A life we'd hate to miss
It's everything we've ever wished
Like Bloody He** it is.
And when the war is over
When Jerry gets his fill
We'll remember ALL that's happened here
My Bloody Oath We Will!
(unknown English flyer at North Compound, Stalag Luft III)
