A photo of my Dad playing Jazz music for some Czech children. From the looks of it the children were more interested in the record player than the music
Studying the Holocaust has a personal significance for me. My father, John Chapman, was a U.S. Army medic during World War II. He was a member of the 120th EVAC Hospital unit attached to General Patton’s 3rd Army. What makes this significant is he was part of the American forces that liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, and his unit was the first to render medical aid to prisoners. He rarely spoke of his experience, but given his role as medic he undoubtedly treated many patients suffering from malnutrition, tuberculosis, and a host of other maladies. His unit became quite famous back home. An article appeared in Life Magazine about the 120th EVAC, and Edward R. Murrow’s nationwide radio broadcast describing what he saw inside the camp included the unit’s activities.