Nazi flag stirs memories of concentration camp, WWII battles for Valley veteran

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

World War II Army veteran Carmen J. Vecchione was mystified when history buff Mike Carper said he had a flag with a Swastika signed by Vecchione, from when his unit was provided security at the Ohrdruf concentration camp in Germany.

What puzzled Vecchione is that he does not remember signing the Nazi flag.

Vecchione does recall bringing home a large Nazi flag, which he ‘liberated’ from Ohrdruf – but not signing it. He said he gave the flag to an acquaintance and never got it back.

Vecchione’s unit, the 773rd Field Artillery (Tank Destroyer) Battalion, was stationed at Ohrdruf, a part of Buchenwald, a huge forced-labor and concentration camp, about two weeks after the camp was liberated on April 11, 1945.

Here is how Carper of Lewistown, Pa., a WWII re-enactor, and Vecchione got together — and how the Youngstown veteran became convinced it really is his signature on the flag.

After he bought the flag at a flea market at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., during a WWII re-enactment to commemorate the Battle of the Bulge, Carper and other members of his re-enactment group searched for the names using the national archive website and other sites such as Ancestry.com.

“Obviously, Mr. Vecchione has a pretty unique name making it easier to find him through our searches. He was the only Carmen J. Vecchione, which came up in a search of the National Archives and Records Administration’s enlisted service records from 1938-1946,” Carper said.

Carper searched the internet for Vecchione and found the name in a story about his WWII experiences published in The Vindicator on Jan. 23, 2011. The Vindicator provided Carper’s contact information to Vecchione, who arranged to meet Carper a few weeks later at a Boardman restaurant.

Carper, who has re-enacted for more than 15 years, served two tours of duty in Iraq 2005-2006 and in 2009 as an infantryman before leaving the Pennsylvania National Guard as a sergeant.

He attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and works as a corrections officer with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections at SCI Rockview.

After his meeting with Carper, Vecchione said he still doesn’t remember signing Carper’s Nazi flag, but declared: “It is definitely my signature.”

Further convincing him his signature is genuine are the signatures on the flag of several other men from his unit that he recognized.

Among those he recognized as members of his gun unit are Richard R. Olson of Galva, Ill.; Edward L. Kubinsky of Kewanee, Ill.; and Edward E. Senn of Hazelton, Ill.

In addition to assuaging his curiosity, the flag brought back memories of his unit’s push through Europe, driving the German army in front of them.

In The Vindicator’s 2011 story about Vecchione, he said the stench was the first thing that hit him when he entered Ohrdruf.

“In the prison barracks all you saw were eyes and elbows and knees. They were so starved,” he said, still shaking his head at the memory of the site 72 years later.

Vecchione, who graduated from South High School in January 1943, was drafted into the Army in May 1943.

Remembering combat in Europe, he said: “As an artillery unit, we were sent as support wherever they needed us. We got five Battle Stars, but the only time we were at the front was when the Germans broke through at the Battle of the Bulge. We had to leave our equipment behind.”

“I’m not a hero. I was one of the luckiest persons going. I’m thankful I came out in one piece,” he said.

Included in Vecchione’s memorabilia of the war is a journal in a three-ring binder with pictures from Buchenwald and an account of his experiences during World War II and his return to Buchenwald in the spring of 2015.

In his original interview with The Vindicator, Vecchione said: “I dedicated my journal to my children and grandchildren ... so they never forget that history can and does repeat itself ... and to tell them you must question every political move your country makes and have the wisdom to see the possibilities of destruction a few men can cause.”

“It’s a lousy world today, too,” said Vecchione in his recent interview with The Vindicator.

“If you think about it, people are against people, even here. Sometimes I feel I fought for nothing,” he said.