A special brotherhood ... World War II POWs reunite, recall 60-year-old experiences
By Tori Rowe

For two weeks, or 11 days, depending on who you ask, John Fuchs and Bill Pearson survived in a German forest eating what was left of their escape kit, and the occasional apple found lying on the ground.

After their plane was shot down and crash landed during World War II, the two fled into the forest, only to be caught by two German civilians approximately two weeks later.

Their story is not unique - many soldiers fought and died the same battle during the war. What is unique is the fact that they didn't see each other for nearly 60 years, but the two were reunited Friday in Huntsville.

Pearson, who lives in Colorado, flew into Houston and stayed in Huntsville with Fuchs until Monday. Over the weekend, the two shared war stories, cleared up a few details of their shared past and took a stroll down memory lane.

The one shared memory they have is that for those two weeks, they knew what it felt like to be an animal - hunted.

"I related that time to being a rabbit or deer, because I felt hunted," Fuchs said. "We had to avoid contact with human beings."

Pearson remembers being afraid, as well, but said his hunger overrode that fear much of the time. Although they found some stray apples to subsist, Pearson said that wasn't the only food they found.

"While we were in the woods, we made a discovery about human agriculture," Pearson said. "We crossed a field and dug up potatoes and discovered that no matter how hungry you are, you can't eat raw potatoes. They're absolutely useless."

After the two were captured, they spent two weeks on the third floor of a civilian prison in Germany.

While they were locked up in their tiny cell, the British began bombing Germany. For two weeks, the two men, in their 20s at the time, sat in their cell, listening to bombs flying overhead - bombs from their allies.

"The other prisoners were taken down to the basement," Fuchs said. "We were left upstairs. When we heard the bombs falling, we were lying there, crossing our fingers."

After they were released from this prison, they were shipped off to two separate prisoner of war camps. Since Pearson was an officer, a staff sergeant, he was sent to a different camp than Fuchs. From there, they lost touch for the next 60 years.

"We spent the weekend exchanging war stories," Pearson said. "I learned details of his experiences, and he learned details of mine."

Fuchs kept a journal of his experiences, and after Pearson read it, he informed him he was mistaken about a few things, like the amount of time the two men spent together.

"He told me things I couldn't remember," Fuchs said. "He updated me on his side of the story.

"We're two old soldiers trying to remember stuff from 60 years ago," he said. "It's kind of comical."

One thing the two agree on is that they are family - they became brothers long ago, and the bond remains.

"It's hard to explain," Fuchs said. "He's like family, we're like brothers, and I feel as if I've been reunited with my brother.

"I found out this weekend that our mothers wrote letters back and forth to one another," he said. "My mother never told me that, but Bill showed me the letters."

Pearson said he couldn't help but have a bond with Fuchs after everything the two went through together.

"It was an experience that fate put us into the process of evading together," he said. "It was a tremendous experience, and we have a bond even though we haven't spoken in 60 years.

"It's an experience money can't buy," he said. "And if you had the money to buy it - you wouldn't want to."

From: http://itemonline.com/articles/2004/04/07/news/local/news4.txt