Salina, Utah, POW massacre

Salina, Utah, POW massacre
Clarence V. Bertucci
Date	July 7/8, 1945
Target	German prisoners of war
Attack type	Mass murder
Weapon(s)	.30 caliber machine gun
Death(s)	9
Injured	19
Perpetrator	Clarence V. Bertucci

The Salina, Utah, Prisoners of War massacre caused the death of nine German prisoners of war and the injury of 20 more.

The incident happened on the night of July 7–July 8, 1945, two months after the German surrender. Private Clarence V. Bertucci (September 14, 1921 - December 1969) returned to the camp from a night of drinking, and relieved the guard of the tower nearest the commanding officer's cabin. He proceeded to load and fire a .30 caliber machine gun into the German prisoners' tents. Within thirty seconds of the start, his belt of 250 rounds was expended. Nine were killed and 20 were injured.

Salina was the home of some 250 German prisoners of war (both from Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS) who were being used as workers on the local harvest. At the time of the incident the prisoners were waiting to be repatriated.

Bertucci was from New Orleans, Louisiana and had previously been convicted twice by court-martial for minor military discipline infractions; hence he was still a private even though he had enlisted in 1940. Due to his mental illness Bertucci spent some time at a New York mental institution. He was one of three Americans prosecuted for killing Axis POW's: the other two were related to the 1943 Biscari massacres in Italy. Bertucci died in December 1969.

See also

• Allied war crimes

References

• "Tragedy Finds Resting Place in Fort Douglas". The Daily Utah Chronicle. 2002-11-11. http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/paper244/news/2002/11/11/Feature/Tragedy.Finds.Resting.Place.In.Fort.Douglas-320023.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailyutahchronicle.com. Retrieved 2006-08-22. 
• "Midnight Massacre". Time. 1945-07-23. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,803557,00.html. Retrieved 2006-12-16.