Memorial

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Pfc Thomas M. Bradish graduated from Bishop Ward High School and was employed at Armour Packing Company.

He enlisted at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on 26 March 1943.

He was taken prisoner of war on 2 February 1944 and send to Stalag 2B in Hammerstein, Germany (now the town of Czarne, Poland). At that time his unit was engaged in the fighting in the Anzio bridgehead in Italy.

Taking in account the day of his death and the fact that his status is "Finding of Death", it is possible that he died one day and one year before his official date of death, although this is not certain. The POW camp where Pfc Thomas was held was evacuated at the end of January 1945 and the prisoners were forced to march west. With the weather being atrocious, the lack of food and decent shelter during the night, only 900 of the original 1200 men made it at their destination at Dahlen on 6 and 7 March 1945. Even after this hardship the suffering fo the surviving men wasn't over until they were liberated by the British on 28 April 1945.