Principal of Trinity Lutheran School uses father's experience as prisoner of war to teach students about World War II

As a prisoner of war, Edward Bender was forced to march more than a hundred miles during the bitterly cold winter of 1945. The Cape Girardeau native had been held at a German prison camp since April of the previous year, when a plane he was flying caught fire.

But as Russians moved toward Sagan, Germany, Bender and an estimated 10,000 prisoners were forced to embark on a lengthy and dangerous trip.

This January, Bender's two daughters will make the same journey.

"It will be a chance to put together the bits and pieces of what he has told us, so we can really understand," said Diane Maurer. Maurer is principal of Trinity Lutheran School in Cape Girardeau, and is using the experience to teach her students about World War II.

The trip is being organized by Evelyn McLaughlin of Colorado, whose father was also a POW, in an attempt to "keep the memory alive."

So far about a dozen people have signed up for the trip. Descendants will begin the walk at 11 p.m. Jan. 27, just like their fathers. While a hotel and bus will be available, those wanting the strictly authentic experience will have the option of sleeping in a church or factory one of the nights. For four days, they will walk between nine and 16 miles a day, before taking a bus the remaining 300 miles.

While Diane Maurer is abroad, students will be able to read a blog of the trip and possibly see Germany via a webcam. In addition to plotting on a map where the prisoners marched, the students will also read books about the war. Ed Bender, 90, will speak to classes.

A book he is writing about his experience, "Lest They Forget Freedom's Price: Memoirs of a WWII Bomber Pilot," is expected to be released about the same time.

Bender, a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, joined the Army Air Force in January 1942 and was stationed abroad two years later. Between January and April of 1944, he completed a number of bombing missions over France and Germany before his plane crashed near Normandy, France, on April 25. He was taken prisoner by Nazi soldiers and sent to Sagan, Germany, which is now known as Zagan, Poland. The movie "The Great Escape" is based on the same camp.

"One night they were putting on a play, and the guard told them they had to leave. They said 'You've got 30 minutes to pack up.' There was a lot of snow and it was slick," McLaughlin said.

As Russians advanced in January 1945, the prisoners were forced to march at night. Although part of their trip was by train, they were forced to walk hundreds of miles before their liberation April 29 in Moosburg, Germany.

"It's an incredible story that these men did this. ... This trip is not about us. It's about them, and respecting that memory and keeping that memory alive," McLaughlin said.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

388-3627