Transcript of: John William Keithan, Jr.
Camp: Dachau
Interviewer None -
Date: October 28, 1979
This tape is completed on the 28th of October, 1979 and is~a general statement for the Center in Research and Social Change, Emory-University, Atlanta, Georgia and is a response to a June 23,-1979 request subsequent to my communicating with the Center and providing them with photographs which had been taken during the month of April, upon the liberation of the Dachau-prison camp-in Germany.
my name is John William Keithan, Jr. Present address is 2226 Eastmont,:: Way, West, Seattle, Washington -~98199. I was born April 10, 1925 and at the time of the liberation of Dachau prison camp was 19 years of age. At the beginning of the war I was a student and would probably have gone into my father's confectionary business. My present occupation is~that of an executive in a major international hotel organization. I was in "H" Company, 232nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Rainbow'Division. my rank at the time of liberation was a Technician, Fifth Grade. I was a cook, but since our rolling kitchens were not in use, my assignments were: either an ammunition carrier for the 30 ca machine guns inour company and/or a mortar ammunition carrier for the 81 MmImortar squad and/or an observer for the mortar squads, with the rifle companies-of the regiments. It was in this capacity - that of an observer for-the mortar squads - that I was traveling with one of the rifle companies in-the regimenton the day of the liberation. Early on the morning of April 30, 1945, 1 arrived~in Dachau, having ridden a truck from Oberroth, Germany as a mortar platoon observer. My company is moving to Dasing, some distance away. I was released from my'responsibilities as observer by the rifle company commander and was making my way back to my company when I was advised of the existence of the prison camp and on my own, decided to see for myself what it was like. Thus, I heard about the camp early on the morning of April 30. 1 had no idea what I expected to see.and I approached the camp practically*unacc'ompanied. My feelings, after such a great time span, are to hard to describe. I was repulsed, horrified. I approached the camp from the Dachau railway station, following the tracks


J.,W. Keithan, Jr. 2. into the camp. Just outside of the camp,~there was a-train:load of emancipated (sic) dead which had been delivered t-) the camp and-the bodies had not been able to be run through the crematorium. It was a cool morning. There were no smell, and while I was observing this-train load of-dead, medical personnel from one of the units found a survivor yet alive at the doorway of one of the cars.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the prisoners spoke to me nor did I have any specific orders concerning the treatment. I spent only about 6-7 hours in the vicinity of the camp, leaving the camp about 6:00 in the'evening, seeking shelter.
There were no guards present when I reached the camp. There were a number of German uniformed dead, at various locations in the camp. One in particular was face down in one of the moats alongside of a compound. I saw no violent incidences between survivo, and guards, this having probably.taken place before my arrival'. Just prior to reaching the railway.station in company with some other rifle company soldiers, I did fire my weap in the apprehension of a number of German prisoners. This served me in good stead, sub sequent to my arrival back with my company, because I had a difficult time explaining to commanding officer my'absence from company activity for the day. Once he understood wha had occurred I experienced no difficulty with my explanation.
There were German civilians outside the-camp. I did see any of them tour the camp nor bury the dead. Their reaction was one of great concern for their~physical well-being for I can remember going through a number of homes-beside the camp, and meeting certain civilians who urged me to stand guard over them as they were fearing retribution from caml inmates. I~was not ordered to protect them from violencenor did I stand guard as reques I can remember one woman telling me that she had lived in Chicago for a number of years and she spoke English very well.
That night I spent in the commandant's quarters and took from his quarters a small camera and several of his medals. The camera,has been sent to the Rainbow Division Memorial Museum in Kansas City and the medals are still in my possession.


J. W. Keithan, Jr.
3.
Just nearby-:in one of the houses that I went through, someone had preceded me and found it necessary to shoot what was obviously a very large and vicious dog. From this house, I took out of a 1938 Olympic program, signatures of the winners of the gold medal Among these-signatures are Jesse Owens, Margie Destree, and others of foreign origin.
It was an experience that I had no way of coping with. I did not.relieve my tensi in any particular way. Nor did I have any strong reaction that I can recall other than complete disgust for the individuals responsible. While I shared the experience with my fellow soldiers, I-have spoken only in general terms about the-camp and my observations with my family.
one interesting sidelight: Subsequent to Victory in Europe Day and in approximate the month of June of 1945, 1 was given a pass to Nancy, France. My first real opportunit to listen to,radio and eat somp,fruits, long denied by Army rations. One afternoon, while on1he street-in N ancy, there was a parade of individuals, dressed in prison camp garb, obviously released inmates, and they were carrying a large cross, heading for the cathedr in what appeared to be a memorial service for deceased prisoners. The Rainbow patch on m arm was recognized and several members of the group asked me to participate in the servic I marched with these people for about 10 blocks and part in their memorial service. A mo interesting experience.
This concludes my comments on my experiences on the liberation of Dachau in 1945. I can only hope that never again will I or anyone on this earth have a similar experience to observe.