Name: John H Losh
First Name(s): John H
Last Name: Losh
Place of birth: Canada, Manitoba, Winnipeg
Rank: 1 Lt
ASN: O-1176413
Company: A Btry
Unit: 590th FAB 106th ID
Reported as: MIA ► POW ► DNB
Date of incident: 21-12-1944
Place of incident: Sankt Vith area
His story: Lt Losh was taken prisoner in the vicinity of Sankt-Vith, Belgium on 21 December 1944 and was taken to Stalag XIII-C in Hammelburg, Germany. He was liberated during the famous Hammelburg raid of Taskforce Baum on 27 March 1945. Ultimately, he was recaptured and had to march to another camp. During that march his group ended up in Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Germany.
The city was ravaged by RAF bombers for several years. Its train yards and manufacturing center were under constant threat. Upon arrival, the POW’s were left out in the open not far from the rail center. As they lingered, air raid sirens went off. The German guards ran for the nearest shelters, but the POW’s were left to fend for themselves. RAF bombers, acting as pathfinders, dropped flares directly over their position. During this air raid Lt Losh was hit by bomb fragments in the side, tearing through vital organs. He was lying face down in a crater, but he was still alive.
Lt Losh died a few days later in a hospital for British POW’s in Berga, Landkreis Elbe-Elster, Brandenburg, Germany.
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