Vernon R. Cumberland was 20 when he and two of his buddies were captured.
They were part of two American companies that surrendered after being surrounded by German troops in January 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge.
The captured soldiers spent their first night in the third-floor attic of a large stone house and their second in the basement of a twin-steeple church. Eventually they were taken to a prison in Muhlberg, Germany -- Stalag IVB.
Mr. Cumberland died of congestive heart failure June 30 at his home in Center, Butler County. He was 76.
After nearly three months in Stalag IVB, Mr. Cumberland and his friends, Horace Cathey and Bruce Waldo, were among a group of American and British prisoners of war assigned to a street-cleaning detail. They were forced to march east toward Russia.
On April 13, 1945, as the prisoners walked near a thick, wooded area, Mr. Cumberland and his two friends escaped.
"When we left the prison, we didn't know where were going," said Cathey, 76, of Allen Park, Mich. "As we were going near this forest, we worked our way to the outside column [of soldiers]. A lot of the trees were up close to the road, and we got a chance to run out into the woods.
"We laid out into the woods three days and nights. We worked our way to the highway, where we saw tanks and surrendered to American troops."
That was the beginning of the end of Mr. Cumberland's military career with 17th Airborne Division. He and his friends were put on a hospital boat to the United States in May 1945. When they were halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, the war in Europe ended.
After World War II, Mr. Cumberland, a Butler native, earned a degree in history and journalism at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He studied Latin and Greek in graduate school at Wheaton for a year and then attended Faith Theological Seminary in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, for two years.
Although he never entered formal ministry, he was active in the church throughout his life and was a charter member and former elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Butler. He also served on the board of the Salvation Army.
After helping friends conduct Bible studies for prisoners, Mr. Cumberland became a member of the Butler County Prison Board. He also served on the Butler Area school board during the 1960s.
"He had six children, and I think he just wanted to be involved for a while," said one of his daughters, Shelley Brown of Butler.
An electrician by trade, Mr. Cumberland discovered a new way to bend conduit pipes that carry electrical wires. He wrote a book on the subject and created the Web site, www.conduitbending.com, which his family plans to maintain.
He wrote a memoir on his World War II experiences, and he, Cathey and Waldo kept in touch throughout the years.
In addition to his daughter, Shelley Brown, Mr. Cumberland is survived by his wife, Dolores; two other daughters, Deborah Hoover of Butler and Colleen Magill of Montgomery Village, Md.; three sons, Robin of Ashtabula, Ohio, Christopher of Butler and Joel of West Sunbury, Butler County; two sisters Phyllis Weigle of Port Orange, Fla., and Lillian Dickey of Butler; four brothers, Theodore of Bradenton, Fla., Thomas of Naperville, Ill., David and Lonny, both of Butler; and nine grandchildren.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
July 10, 2001
They were part of two American companies that surrendered after being surrounded by German troops in January 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge.
The captured soldiers spent their first night in the third-floor attic of a large stone house and their second in the basement of a twin-steeple church. Eventually they were taken to a prison in Muhlberg, Germany -- Stalag IVB.
Mr. Cumberland died of congestive heart failure June 30 at his home in Center, Butler County. He was 76.
After nearly three months in Stalag IVB, Mr. Cumberland and his friends, Horace Cathey and Bruce Waldo, were among a group of American and British prisoners of war assigned to a street-cleaning detail. They were forced to march east toward Russia.
On April 13, 1945, as the prisoners walked near a thick, wooded area, Mr. Cumberland and his two friends escaped.
"When we left the prison, we didn't know where were going," said Cathey, 76, of Allen Park, Mich. "As we were going near this forest, we worked our way to the outside column [of soldiers]. A lot of the trees were up close to the road, and we got a chance to run out into the woods.
"We laid out into the woods three days and nights. We worked our way to the highway, where we saw tanks and surrendered to American troops."
That was the beginning of the end of Mr. Cumberland's military career with 17th Airborne Division. He and his friends were put on a hospital boat to the United States in May 1945. When they were halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, the war in Europe ended.
After World War II, Mr. Cumberland, a Butler native, earned a degree in history and journalism at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He studied Latin and Greek in graduate school at Wheaton for a year and then attended Faith Theological Seminary in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, for two years.
Although he never entered formal ministry, he was active in the church throughout his life and was a charter member and former elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Butler. He also served on the board of the Salvation Army.
After helping friends conduct Bible studies for prisoners, Mr. Cumberland became a member of the Butler County Prison Board. He also served on the Butler Area school board during the 1960s.
"He had six children, and I think he just wanted to be involved for a while," said one of his daughters, Shelley Brown of Butler.
An electrician by trade, Mr. Cumberland discovered a new way to bend conduit pipes that carry electrical wires. He wrote a book on the subject and created the Web site, www.conduitbending.com, which his family plans to maintain.
He wrote a memoir on his World War II experiences, and he, Cathey and Waldo kept in touch throughout the years.
In addition to his daughter, Shelley Brown, Mr. Cumberland is survived by his wife, Dolores; two other daughters, Deborah Hoover of Butler and Colleen Magill of Montgomery Village, Md.; three sons, Robin of Ashtabula, Ohio, Christopher of Butler and Joel of West Sunbury, Butler County; two sisters Phyllis Weigle of Port Orange, Fla., and Lillian Dickey of Butler; four brothers, Theodore of Bradenton, Fla., Thomas of Naperville, Ill., David and Lonny, both of Butler; and nine grandchildren.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
July 10, 2001
Vernon R. Cumberland was 20 when he and two of his buddies were captured.
They were part of two American companies that surrendered after being surrounded by German troops in January 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge.
The captured soldiers spent their first night in the third-floor attic of a large stone house and their second in the basement of a twin-steeple church. Eventually they were taken to a prison in Muhlberg, Germany -- Stalag IVB.
Mr. Cumberland died of congestive heart failure June 30 at his home in Center, Butler County. He was 76.
After nearly three months in Stalag IVB, Mr. Cumberland and his friends, Horace Cathey and Bruce Waldo, were among a group of American and British prisoners of war assigned to a street-cleaning detail. They were forced to march east toward Russia.
On April 13, 1945, as the prisoners walked near a thick, wooded area, Mr. Cumberland and his two friends escaped.
"When we left the prison, we didn't know where were going," said Cathey, 76, of Allen Park, Mich. "As we were going near this forest, we worked our way to the outside column [of soldiers]. A lot of the trees were up close to the road, and we got a chance to run out into the woods.
"We laid out into the woods three days and nights. We worked our way to the highway, where we saw tanks and surrendered to American troops."
That was the beginning of the end of Mr. Cumberland's military career with 17th Airborne Division. He and his friends were put on a hospital boat to the United States in May 1945. When they were halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, the war in Europe ended.
After World War II, Mr. Cumberland, a Butler native, earned a degree in history and journalism at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He studied Latin and Greek in graduate school at Wheaton for a year and then attended Faith Theological Seminary in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, for two years.
Although he never entered formal ministry, he was active in the church throughout his life and was a charter member and former elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Butler. He also served on the board of the Salvation Army.
After helping friends conduct Bible studies for prisoners, Mr. Cumberland became a member of the Butler County Prison Board. He also served on the Butler Area school board during the 1960s.
"He had six children, and I think he just wanted to be involved for a while," said one of his daughters, Shelley Brown of Butler.
An electrician by trade, Mr. Cumberland discovered a new way to bend conduit pipes that carry electrical wires. He wrote a book on the subject and created the Web site, www.conduitbending.com, which his family plans to maintain.
He wrote a memoir on his World War II experiences, and he, Cathey and Waldo kept in touch throughout the years.
In addition to his daughter, Shelley Brown, Mr. Cumberland is survived by his wife, Dolores; two other daughters, Deborah Hoover of Butler and Colleen Magill of Montgomery Village, Md.; three sons, Robin of Ashtabula, Ohio, Christopher of Butler and Joel of West Sunbury, Butler County; two sisters Phyllis Weigle of Port Orange, Fla., and Lillian Dickey of Butler; four brothers, Theodore of Bradenton, Fla., Thomas of Naperville, Ill., David and Lonny, both of Butler; and nine grandchildren.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
July 10, 2001
They were part of two American companies that surrendered after being surrounded by German troops in January 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge.
The captured soldiers spent their first night in the third-floor attic of a large stone house and their second in the basement of a twin-steeple church. Eventually they were taken to a prison in Muhlberg, Germany -- Stalag IVB.
Mr. Cumberland died of congestive heart failure June 30 at his home in Center, Butler County. He was 76.
After nearly three months in Stalag IVB, Mr. Cumberland and his friends, Horace Cathey and Bruce Waldo, were among a group of American and British prisoners of war assigned to a street-cleaning detail. They were forced to march east toward Russia.
On April 13, 1945, as the prisoners walked near a thick, wooded area, Mr. Cumberland and his two friends escaped.
"When we left the prison, we didn't know where were going," said Cathey, 76, of Allen Park, Mich. "As we were going near this forest, we worked our way to the outside column [of soldiers]. A lot of the trees were up close to the road, and we got a chance to run out into the woods.
"We laid out into the woods three days and nights. We worked our way to the highway, where we saw tanks and surrendered to American troops."
That was the beginning of the end of Mr. Cumberland's military career with 17th Airborne Division. He and his friends were put on a hospital boat to the United States in May 1945. When they were halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, the war in Europe ended.
After World War II, Mr. Cumberland, a Butler native, earned a degree in history and journalism at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He studied Latin and Greek in graduate school at Wheaton for a year and then attended Faith Theological Seminary in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, for two years.
Although he never entered formal ministry, he was active in the church throughout his life and was a charter member and former elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Butler. He also served on the board of the Salvation Army.
After helping friends conduct Bible studies for prisoners, Mr. Cumberland became a member of the Butler County Prison Board. He also served on the Butler Area school board during the 1960s.
"He had six children, and I think he just wanted to be involved for a while," said one of his daughters, Shelley Brown of Butler.
An electrician by trade, Mr. Cumberland discovered a new way to bend conduit pipes that carry electrical wires. He wrote a book on the subject and created the Web site, www.conduitbending.com, which his family plans to maintain.
He wrote a memoir on his World War II experiences, and he, Cathey and Waldo kept in touch throughout the years.
In addition to his daughter, Shelley Brown, Mr. Cumberland is survived by his wife, Dolores; two other daughters, Deborah Hoover of Butler and Colleen Magill of Montgomery Village, Md.; three sons, Robin of Ashtabula, Ohio, Christopher of Butler and Joel of West Sunbury, Butler County; two sisters Phyllis Weigle of Port Orange, Fla., and Lillian Dickey of Butler; four brothers, Theodore of Bradenton, Fla., Thomas of Naperville, Ill., David and Lonny, both of Butler; and nine grandchildren.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
July 10, 2001
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