by Josh Peffer

Created on: December 17, 2009

          In Jerry Borrowman’s book A Distant Prayer, a young man is faced with the troubles of a prisoner of war camp, and has to endure the harsh conditions of a prisoner of war camp during World War two in 1944.

          Joseph Banks, an engineer on a B-17 bomber, is shot down one mission before going home.  He is the only survivor of his whole crew.  He is caught and taken to a prisoner of war camp in Germany.

          During his time at the prisoner of war camp, he is treated like a dog.  At first he is taken to a cell and just put there.  He said during this time, “I don’t know how long I sat in the cell.  It’s hard to measure time when there are no external indications like light or darkness.  I was desperately tired, but so many thoughts crowded into my mind that I was impossible to sleep.”  He is then taken to an interrogator.  After which, his is then sent to a barracks with many other prisoners of war.

          In the barracks, he was introduced to twenty other men, which he was to share his barracks.  The barracks was not even as big as a living room and small bedroom, yet twenty men were crammed into this small room.  Many of the other prisoners had serious wounds that they had received in combat and had not yet been treated.  Most of them need to see a doctor very bad but the Germans offered none.  He said that he hated the German guards for seeing how much pain these guys were in, and not offering any assistance even when it was requested.

          During this time of diseases, he said that he had none, until one day, he had an infection on his wrist and all the way up his arm from a wound he received from being shot down.  He was taken to the camp doctor, which almost no one could see except guards.  He looked at it and said it was gangrene.  He said the arm would have to be amputated right then.  He said he did not know if he wanted it to be.  The doctor said if it was not amputated by the next morning it would get a lot worse and effect his back and even farther.  He came back the next day and it was mostly gone.  The doctor said it was a miracle.  During the next few days it completely healed.  After the war was over he said that the war helped he overcome so many difficulties in his life.

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