A New York homeowner discovered approximately 300 pages of once-classified World War II prisoner accounts while cleaning his garage, uncovering government records that have since been recovered by the National Archives. Jason Hurdle, 74, found the documents inside a previously unnoticed crawlspace at his Waterloo property, where he had lived for 14 years. The files, marked "secret," contained firsthand descriptions of captivity written by American prisoners of war.
"Seeing these words written is quite heavy. This is all new to us. The emotions. I can’t even describe." Michael Yanes, Henry Daly's Great-Grandson
The discovery began when Hurdle brought the papers to a local library, which then referred the find to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Officials from NARA subsequently collected the records and confirmed their authenticity. Although the documents had once been classified, they are now being preserved alongside similar accounts within the National Archives' holdings and are expected to be digitized, making them accessible to the public.
The precise circumstances of how these historically significant records came to be in Hurdle's garage remain unclear. Hurdle noted that the property had belonged to his wife’s family for generations but could not provide an explanation for the documents' presence. He mentioned a former neighbor who possessed memorabilia related to an ancestor, though no direct connection between that collection and the recovered files has been established by investigators or family.
These accounts were originally compiled after prisoners arrived at Camp Lucky Strike in Normandy, France. At this camp, returning American POWs were asked to document their experiences for intelligence gathering purposes. Records collected at Camp Lucky Strike were also instrumental in providing evidence for military tribunals established to examine wartime abuses. The newly recovered pages offer stark descriptions of the harsh realities faced by these prisoners, including severe deprivation, dangerous transportation conditions, and the tragic deaths of fellow captives.
One poignant account, written by Julian Candelaria, detailed men being packed into railway boxcars under inhumane conditions, lacking adequate food, water, or sanitation. Candelaria's testimony also described exposure to intense bombing and an extended march with minimal sustenance and no medical assistance. According to reports citing Candelaria’s obituary, he had refused to discuss his imprisonment by German captors after returning home, a common response among veterans of such traumatic experiences.
Another former prisoner, Henry Daly, recounted taking cover during a bombing raid and the devastating loss of two companions whose names he could no longer recall. "We ran for cover, but two of my companions [whose] names I do not [recall] were killed by the bombs," Daly wrote, providing a raw glimpse into the chaos and personal cost of war. Daly’s great-grandson, Michael Yanes, shared that the veteran had never spoken of his wartime experiences with relatives. Yanes also recalled that Daly sometimes slept in a park, struggling to remain inside his home, potentially indicating unresolved trauma from his captivity.
For families like Daly's, the recovered testimony provides crucial details that had been absent from their understanding of their loved ones' lives. Michael Yanes expressed the profound impact of the discovery, stating, "Seeing these words written is quite heavy. This is all new to us. The emotions. I can’t even describe." The National Archives had not previously listed these newly recovered accounts among its missing documents. Grace McCaffrey, a spokesperson for the agency, underscored the critical importance of preserving government records and ensuring the nation’s history is available to the public.
This discovery adds to other recently recovered historical materials, including Navy records related to an engineer involved in Apollo missions, which contained blueprints and sound recordings. The World War II prisoner accounts will now be integrated with related National Archives holdings as officials prepare them for digitization and future public access, ensuring these invaluable personal histories contribute to the collective memory and understanding of a pivotal period in American and global history.
