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 Frederick Matthews, born into a broken home in 1942, and his six siblings were all raised in foster homes in the Ellwood City area. Matthews, a 1960 graduate of Lincoln High, joined the U. S. Army and was subsequently stationed in West Germany. After a three-year stint in the military he was honorably discharged, but remained in Germany with a fellow ex-Army buddy (and Akron OH native) named Moses Herrin. Matthews found work as a waiter in a Berlin restaurant, but along with Herrin he was soon recruited into an extremely dangerous occupation – smuggling political refugees out of Communist East Germany. After several successful smuggling attempts Matthews and Herrin were captured during a daring mission behind Communist lines on September 19, 1965. They were convicted of espionage and beginning in December 1965 they were incarcerated in a prison in Bautzen. In early February 1967 they were released with two other Americans during a swap of Cold War prisoners. Matthews returned home and eventually settled in Ellport, where I believe he still resides today. (1962) |
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Cory Maidens #
Hello my name is Cory Maidens. I live in Akron, Ohio and am reaching out on behalf of Moses Herrin in an attempt to reach Fred Matthews. Moses was imprisoned along with Fred but has lost contact with him over the many years. He has information about their imprisonment and his subsequent contact with the German government that he would like to pass along. If you can please direct us towards Fred or a relative we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
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