James Hawley Stephenson
United States Air Force
My father was a prisoner of war in Barth, but he never spoke of his experience at all to me or my sister. I asked him many times, and he would always say, "don't ask" or the like. His name was James Hawley Stephenson and upon returning from being a prisoner of war, he changed his life direction and became a physician. He then got interested in natural medicine and practised as a homeopath all his life, until his death in 1985.
My mother, who married him shortly upon his return from WW2, said he used to have nightmares, and more, for a long time. I believe he experienced PTSD all his life, he never made any deep friendships and was a bit of a loner.
I only learned where he was incarcerated recently thanks to the web and sites like this, and had the amazing opportunity to visit the site of Barth. a poem I wrote about my feelings at the site, with a photo of him.
If anyone has any other information about him, like where he was in the camp or anything else, it would be great to know. I do know he was good friends with a Canadian man, and they kept up a bit after the war.
