In the quiet, early morning hours of July 8, 1945, a tragedy unfolded in the small town of Salina, Utah, forever marking it as the site of the worst massacre at a prisoner of war camp in United States history. Georg Liske, a 31-year-old male German prisoner of war, was among the nine men who lost their lives that night. The peaceful slumber of the 250 German prisoners, most of whom were from the Afrika Korps, was shattered by the sound of machine-gun fire.
The perpetrator was an American
soldier, Private Clarence V. Bertucci, who was on guard duty at the camp. After having a drink at a local cafe and telling a waitress that 'something exciting is going to happen tonight,' Bertucci returned to the camp for his midnight shift. He ascended one of the guard towers, loaded a. 30-caliber M1917 Browning machine gun, and opened fire on the tents where the prisoners were sleeping. His motive, as he later stated, was a deep-seated hatred for Germans.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, six prisoners were killed instantly. Georg Liske, along with two other men, succumbed to his injuries later. Nineteen other prisoners were wounded in the attack. The quiet lawn of the local hospital was turned into a makeshift triage center to care for the numerous victims.
Following the massacre, Private Bertucci was taken into custody without resistance. An evaluation of his mental state determined that he was 'mentally unbalanced.' Consequently, military officials decided against a court-martial, and he was instead sent to a hospital for treatment. The nine victims, including Georg Liske, were buried with full military honors at the Fort Douglas Military Cemetery.
