The Last Liberator

Oxford, Iowa-------James Hoyt, Sr., the last of four American soldiers who found the German Concentration Camp Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, has died at the age of 83. James, a true American hero, was buried in a military graveside service on August 14th, 2008, in Oxford, Iowa. 

James Hoyt, Sr. was born in 1925 in Oxford, Iowa, where he lived all his life. After coming home from World War II, James married the love of his life, Doris, raised their six children, and was a mailman for over thirty years.

 At the age of nineteen, James was one of four soldiers of the U.S. Army, Sixth Armored Division, who discovered Buchenwald, one of Germany's concentration camps, which was well-hidden in deep woods.

Along with three other U. S. Army, Sixth Armored Division soldiers-- all Americans--James was one of the first Liberators of Buchenwald.  The discovery by American forces of Buchenwald saved the lives of many thousands of starving and dying people who were prisoners of Nazi Germany.

These first Liberators saw firsthand the unspeakable horrors the Germans had inflicted on their prisoners......thousands of bodies piled high, human hearts that had been taken from living people in medical experiments, a lampshade made from the skin of a human arm--- because a German officer's wife liked the tatoo that was on that arm----unspeakable atrocities you had to see with your own eyes to believe.  

James, a humble and unassuming family man, seldom spoke of those horrors and--sixty-three years later--still suffered from Post Traumatic Syndrome. Until recently, few knew James' story. However, a book, "The Oxford Project" will be soon be available to the public that details his remarkable experiences.  

With the passing of James Hoyt, Sr., all four of the American soldiers known as the Liberators of Buchenwald are now dead. 

Secretary of the United States Army Pete Geren, said that heroes like James Hoyt and the sacrifice James Hoyt and so many others like him had made for their country so many years ago should not be forgotten.

Secretary Geren said,  "It's the memory of heroes like James Hoyt and the memories of what they've done that we must ensure that we keep alive and share with the current generation and future generations. Mr. Hoyt, as a young man, saw unspeakable horrors when he was one of the soldiers to discover Buchenwald Concentration Camp, and these are experiences as a country and a world we can never forget." 

James Hoyt, Sr. declined the opportunity to attend the Fiftieth Anniversay of the Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp, saying it would bring back too many horrific memories.

 On the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp, one of the liberators who was with James Hoyt, Sr.,  --Frederick Keffer--  had participated in that event. Though now deceased, Captain Frederick Keffer, U.S. Army, Sixth Armored Division---- in speaking of the horrors of Buchenwald and what it meant for the world--- wrote these words:

"MEMORIES OF EVIL GET ERASED, FOR LIFE MUST GO ON, AND NEW GENERATIONS CANNOT BE LOCKED IN THE PAST. BUT THEY WOULD DO WELL TO REMEMBER THE PAST."

My own father, Ralston Cecil Head, was a Medic with thirteen battle stars. Ralston was a veteran of the slaughter of the bloody North Africa Campaign. Ralston was also a true hero of World War II. My father always said that if we are to learn from the past, we must remember the past and the evil therein, and do what we have to do to stop that evil, to make sure it never happens again.

Wise words from wise men.

Farewell, James Hoyt, Sr., True American Hero. I salute you and all the other American heroes in our military---our veterans--living and dead--and our brave soldiers of today, ever vigilant for our Freedom.

 God Bless America.