Joseph Beyrle after a parade in Moscow's Red Square, 2004 .

Joseph Beyrle 2004

GIs guard a group of German POWs captured in an outskirt of Koblenz by the Mosel river in March 1945. Surrendering in the closing days of the war carried a deadly risk because of roaming SS squads who had orders to shoot or hang anyone who was even faintly suspected of preparing to give up. So, German soldiers took to surrendering in large groups seeking security in numbers.

Safer in captivity

Infantrymen of Company C, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, U.S. First Army, move up into the village of Frauwüllesheim, Germany, after crossing the Roer River. Feb. 28, 1945.