German Soldiers Surrender to US Soldiers

[Calif-Steve]

I knew a fine gentleman at Lawrence Livermore Nat Lab who was drafted into the German Army in 1945. He was around 15 at the time. He said all of his friends were drafted and showed up. They threw him into a uniform and shipped him off to a combat unit. No training at all. The NCO's told the kids to keep down and keep quiet. They were going to surrender to the Americans as soon as they could. Keep quiet. In due time an American unit arrived and the NCO's arranged for a peaceful surrender. They said they were not going to get killed in the last 5 minutes of the war. The American took the kids and put them on the road on foot to go home. My friend said all of the kids made it home OK, and their parents were very happy. My friend had survived a terrible war and was quite happy about that.