Death could be smelt billowing from inside Dachau. (Photo courtesy of Alfred Fontana)

Dachau Reflections:

Alfred Fontana was 28-years-old when he was drafted into the service in 1941. Prior to the war, Fontana worked at the Gordon Gin Plant in New Jersey. In 1937, he organized the plant into a union.

Fontana was one of the first groups of civilians to be drafted into the war. He accepted the fact he was drafted and wanted to do his part for his country.

He thought of the war as an adventure, but he never expected to see the nightmare he witnessed on April 29, 1945.

Fontana remembers vividly the horror of the Nazi's concentration camp, Dachau.

He remembers the cheering prisoners as the 42nd liberated the camp. He remembers seeing so many innocent prisoners dead and castoff aside as if they were no one's child or parent.

Dachau was a horror to all the young soldiers who witnessed it. It is a day that will forever live in Fontana's mind.

(All information gathered from 1/18/04 interview; Al Fontana passed away on December 27, 2008 at the age of 94.)