“Shortly before VE-Day, I received a cryptic telegram at Ninth Army Headquarters stating that, as of midnight that particular night, Siegen was my headache. Then followed weeks of activity in which Walker, Steve and I were involved.”
“Who is Steve?” I asked.
“Steve Kovalyak of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania,” said Lamont. “I think he’s with George at Alt Aussee now. I hope you’ll meet him. He’s a great character.
“A bunker at Bonn was approved as a new repository for the Siegen treasures. I surveyed the roads to Bonn and found them impossible for truck transport. George was called to Alt Aussee. Walker went off to see about setting up a collecting point at Marburg.
“Then I was called back to Ninth Army Headquarters. The evacuation of Siegen was momentarily at a standstill.
“Later I returned and, with Walker’s and Steve’s assistance, completed the evacuation. We moved everything to Marburg, except the famous Romanesque doors from the church of Santa Maria im Kapitol. Walker took them to the cathedral at Cologne, along with the Aachen crown jewels.
“Siegen was the second major evacuation—perhaps you could say it was the first carried out by a team of MFA&A officers.”
“What was the first?” I asked.
“The Merkers mine, where the Nazi gold and the Berlin Museum things were stored. That was the most spectacular of the early evacuations—that and Bernterode.”
“What about Bernterode?” I asked. I had read Hancock’s official report of the operation and had seen some snapshots taken in the mine, so I was curious to have a firsthand account.