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by Mitch Snowman Robert Farnsworth was born during the depression on April 5th, 1933. Shortly after his birth, World War II started, and his two oldest brothers, Russell and Bill, were drafted into the army. The war affected the whole community of Millinocket in that almost every familly had at least one member, and often times more, who had gone off to fight in the army. Aside from simply causing his two brothers to go off and fight, the war did have an even more direct effect on his family. A year or so after the war started, Robert's family received notice that his oldest brother, Russell, had been proclaimed missing in action (MIA), and no one knew what had happened to him. Fearing the worst, Robert's family assumed that Russell had most likely been killed. A few months later, after the news of Russell's disappearance, Robert's family received more information on the disappearance of his brother. It had turned out that Robert's brother was not dead, but a prisoner of war (POW), and was being held by the Germans in a prisoner detention center. Although the news was not much better than the previous, Robert and his family were relieved to know that at least Robert's brother was not dead. They still feared for his life, during the time that he was being held by the Germans. Russell's treatment at the camp was no less than horrible. He was fed nearly nothing and lost over 50 pounds during his imprisonment. He was tortured almost every day for over a year. The last news of Russell's imprisonment had come over a year before, and the family thought of him every day. Russell was captured during the last year of the war and when it was finally over, Russell was released and returned home. Being extremely relieved by his return, Robert and the rest of Russell's family felt better knowing that Russell was now safe at home. Unfortunately, the poor treatment which Russell had received, and his starvation had made him terribly ill. After time, Russell got better and better, but he still was struggling with some health complications. It was not until much later, in 1967, that Robert's brother, Russell, passed away due to liver failure. In an indirect way, this was caused by his imprisonment in Germany, almost thirty years before. Robert's family suffered a great loss both during the war, and when his brother passed away. It was not just his family that suffered, many other families had gone through the same troubles. World War II certainly affected everybody.
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