The story that follows is based on the actual experiences of Captain Winthrop Whitney Sanderson. Captain Sanderson enlisted into the Army on December 8, 1941, leaving his home in Greenfield Massachusetts. He left the service in February of 1946. Captain Sanderson served in Europe in the Army Corps of Engineers and later as a tank commander. He really did adopt the young boy mentioned in the story. Mr. Sanderson is now retired and lives with his family in Avon, Connecticut.

A Boy Named Boris

Captain Sanderson knew all to well of the dangers he and his men would encounter. There were many days when he would gear up to go on yet another mission with the men in his command. They would be busy reloading guns and gathering supplies when orders would soon come to move. A noisy rumble would fill the calm and tranquil air as the American tanks would start their engines. The tanks would then move forward to face whatever obstacles and dangers the enemy would present.

The tanks rolled over the European nations of France, Belgium and Holland enforcing territory. Later in the war when orders came enter Germany and clear the enemy from the towns and the designated areas ahead in the eastern region, Captain Sanderson was concerned. Even though he knew the orders well and how to act, he worried for the safety of his men. He knew about the German Teller anti-tank mines, which were capable of flipping the American tanks. He also knew about the German 80-caliber guns, which could punch a hole in his tank armor. Despite the risks, Captain Sanderson was ready for any mission. With no way to detect the mines, he just hoped his tanks wouldn’t cross any. Captain Sanderson was fortunate and returned safely from battle to camp each time, often with prisoners who were mostly young men.

One day, back at the camp near Traunstain, Germany, Captain Sanderson spotted a young boy moving about the men doing odd jobs as many displaced persons would do. He thought that he had seen this boy in the camp before. He began to wonder about him. He knew many children had been orphaned by the war and this boy was surely one of them. In the days that followed, the boy began to come regularly to Captain Sanderson’s tent. His eagerness and bright smile must have been a welcome sight to the soldier so far from home.

Soon, Captain Sanderson and the young boy and began to talk. Because Captain Sanderson had worked along side the Polish field hands on his family farm in Massachusetts, he had learned to speak Polish quite well and could talk with the boy; he came to know as Boris. He learned that the German soldiers had captured Boris and his parents. During the war, prisoners from other countries would be taken to Germany to work in factories. The boys would be trained for service in the German Army. When Boris, his parents and other prisoners were being taken by barge to Germany, fierce fighting broke out. Bombs fell around the barge and the people on board took cover as best they could. When the barge took a direct hit, everyone was tossed into the water. On that day, Boris became an orphan. Completely on his own, Boris had found his way to the American camp looking for food and shelter. When Captain Sanderson went on leave he would take the boy with him. A close bond formed between the two.

As the war came to a close, Captain Sanderson realized that something had to be done for Boris. Without his parents and the American soldiers he had come to depend on, Captain Sanderson knew that Boris would be sent back to his homeland and would most likely face death. The decision to adopt Boris was an easy one for Captain Sanderson and he returned to America with a son.