John Salopek was taken prisoner by the Germans and imprisoned in Hammelburg/Oflag XIIIB. On March 27, 1945 Task Force BAUM, ordered by General Patton, driving through 70 miles of enemy territory, was able to liberate only 300 of the 1,500 POWs there. John Salopek was among them. When the Germans successfully attacked the returning convoy he escaped, found friendly assistance from German Red Cross volunteers and French workers at a German farmhouse for one week until American forces liberated the area.