just revealed that big arrest >> reporter: authorities it turns out have been investigating damin pashilk at least the past year. they say he's a prolific arsonist and tonight word of i had arrest is the first good news this -- word of his arrest is the first good news this community has had in days. the announcement came. >> it is my pleasure to announce the arrest of damin anthony pashilk. >> reporter: and a cheer went up. 40-year-old damin pashilk of clearlake arrested for a string of arsons suspected of setting 17 fires in the last year alone including the layton fire which has burned already 125 -- clayton fire which has burned already 125 structures. this woman recognized the man as an acquaintance before her house went up in flames. >> she believed he burnt her place. she showed me his face and now they say they arrested him as an arson. >> reporter: authorities believe pashilk set the fire off clear creek road on highway 29. ryan lewis knows his mother's home is a loss already, though with pashilk behind bars, he says lower lake can begin healing. >> lower lake is my home and to s

they believe that damin pashilk is responsible. he lives two doors down from kayla's mother valerie. >> he is harmless. >> reporter: valerie says she has known the suspect for 27 years. >> i don't see him doing it. he wouldn't do that. he wouldn't put kids in danger, he wouldn't put the people in danger like that, i don't see it. >> reporter: they describe him as a handyman in and out of trouble with the law that officials say he served a five- year sentence in 2002 on drug possession and firearm charges. sources close to the investigation say they only recently received information tieing pashilk to the clayton fire and 16 other small fires set over the past year. >> we've been on high alert after a series of fires, even as of last week that we would have several fires off of highway 29. >> reporter: officials say he trained as an inmate while serving time in state prison and from april through july of 2007. >> i think that this will be even worse that ten years ago they would work to put out these fires to build their containment

. >> reporter: clad in jail stripes and ducking his head away from cameras, damin pashilk was charged with 14 counts of arson in connection with the string of nicer lake county dating back to last summer. the most recent fire, clayton fire, that's already burned 4,000 acres and 175 homes in lower lake was the one that landed him in cuffs. but it's clear from the 6-page criminal complaint against pashilk that he had been on the radar of fire investigators for more than a year. >> we're look at all fires that took place. i cannot be specific. >> reporter: a fire investigator says concerns over a weak case might have kept investigators from charging pashilk any earlier, something mirrored by lake county sheriff brian martin. >> you get one shot at this. if you take your -- your -- your shot too soon, you jeopardize bringing somebody to justice who truly deserves it. >> reporter: among the problems the former fire investigator says is the evidence burns up. the counts against pashilk allege that he started two fires on highway 20 near walker ridge road on july 2, 2015. less than a month l

people have used pashilk's facebook page to lash out. one woman said "i thought our county was burning down. i thought i was paranoid thinking it was arson because i didn't want to believe someone could do this." another post said "go get him, folks." another called him a piece of you know what for starting the fires. two weeks ago pashilk also joined a radio scanner facebook group that posted details of lake county fire calls and included information on the aftermath. >> if he is found guilty of the charges, he poses a significant danger to the public and that's the reason for the increased bail amount. >> reporter: meanwhile, the folks who have lost everything and been affected by the fire are asking how in the world this man could be on the radar of law enforcement for over a year and not be arrested. what kind of a difference would that make to their lives? that's a question we plan on asking law enforcement tomorrow when pashilk is in court at 1:15 pm. i will be there to bring you the very latest. emily turner, kpix five. >> it's so

pashilk was in the program for two months before being paroled. damon pashilk will go before a judge tomorrow. we tried to reach out to him but got no response. scott, the california governor has declared this area a state of emergency, which means victims will get some much-needed funding to start picking up the pieces. >> pelley: mireya villarreal, thanks. now to louisiana. the flooding death toll rose today to 11. more than 30,000 people have been rescued. more than 11,000 are in shelters tonight. have a look at this. this is a school in hammond, louisiana, before the floods. this is the school now, surrounded. omar villafranca has the latest. >> reporter: the historic flooding continues to spread throughout the state. nearly 90% of the homes in denham springs suffered flood damage. as the water flowed downstream, towns like sorrento are being submerged. volunteers and rescue teams are still looking for stranded residents. >> this is our low spot on this street. >> reporter: tanya whitney's sorrento street was completely flooded. >> very long r

authorities tonight not saying whether pashilk could be tied to those fires. but today, firefighters battling another fast-moving blaze outside los angeles. the fire moving so quickly, fighters had to flee the fire line. now, as for this community, david, despite the devastation here, a huge sigh of relief now that a suspect has been arrested. pashilk will be in court thanks, mary. >>> we turn next to major developments in the race for the white house tonight. possible new trouble for hillary clinton. and donald trump, standing firm tonight. a new interview a short time ago, and in it, trump's reaction to all of this talk that his campaign desperately needs to pivot, a reset. tonight, what donald trump has to say about that. and abc's tom llamas is outside milwaukee. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump with a clear message when it comes to his style -- change is not on the way. >> i am who i am. it's me. i dot everyone talks about, oh, well you're going to pivot, you're going to. i don't want to pivot. i mean, you have to be you. if you start pivoting, you're n

a mere reward. >> up to lake county, going to talk about dana pashilk. -- damon pashilk. >> he will be in court at 1:15. when he was in prison nine or so years ago, he was an inmate firefighter. the dreaded bandit suspect, this guy learned the craft. he is trained to do it. now he is accused of setting fires himself. >> you look at all these court records as part of your job. do you think it will come out how they got him? what evidence they have? this is going to come out, right? >> i hope so. i will take a look at the complaint. 17 felony charges. all these fires through lake county, including the big one over the past year. we will see what led to his capture. >> right. something must have linked him. they got him quickly. >> maybe they knew about him before the clayton fire sparked over the weekend? >> maybe and they couldn't link him. >> right. the dreaded bandit and this alleged serial arsonist, you tail these guys, you do surveillance, but up don't want them to do something that's harms people, but you want to catch them in the act. >> maybe the court documents will be revealing

. >> reporter: damin pashilk is held an $5 million bail tonight. cal fire called him a serial arsonist and today all the charges were revealed dating back more than year. >> reporter: ducking his head away from cameras damin pashilk was charged with 14 counts of arson in connection with fires in lake county dating back to last summer. the most recent fire, the clayton fire, burned 4,000 acres and 175 homes in lower lake, landed him in cuffs. it is clear from the complaint against damin pashilk that he had been on the radar for more than a year. >> we are looking at all fires. >> reporter: he says concerns over a weak case might have kept investigators from charging him earlier. something mirrored by the sheriff. >> you have one shot at this. if you take it too soon you jeopardize bringing someone to justice. >> reporter: among the problems with investigations is the evidence burns up. the counts against damin pashilk allege he started torre fires on highway 20 -- two fires on highway 20. he lit another fire on fire 20. the pattern continued last su

pashilk is 40 and suspected in other arsons before. next, he has a record date back to 2005 with arrests for drugs and parole violations. pashilk was born in san francisco and said she a construction worker. amy hollyfield is on the story with more in lower lake. >> i hear this morning that firefighters are feeling a lot of ride that it was their investigators would made the arrest. residents are feeling relief and anger knowing that now someone is accused of causing the devastation. this was someone's home and they lost everything. evacuees applauded the investigators last night when they announced an arrest was made. 40-year-old damin anthony pashilk from clearlake is in jail. officers did not say what they think the motive was but he has under investigation for more than a year. >> it is a tragic day when we identify any individual would intentionally starts a four. a first like this is devastating to the community that has suffered significantly over the last year. we are very proud of our investigators. >> the man accused of set t

ryan lewis knows his mother's home is a loss already, though with pashilk behind bars, he says lower lake can begin healing. >> lower lake is my home and to see it burned to the ground is very heartwrenching. >> reporter: pashilk is expected to be arraigned wednesday. cent contained tonight. >> the clayton fire has burned about 4,000 acres, more than 6 square miles. the fire is 5% contained tonight. late today governor brown declared a state of emergency for the affected areas. the fire forced st. helena hospital to shut down. the medical staff are continuing to treat people at smaller facilities that the hospital operates elsewhere. able to re-open. >> our incident command is operating wonderfully and able to respond to all needs and at our outpatient sites in the county we're able to see community members and evacuees that might need outpatient services. >> the fire did not reach the hospital, but as of now it's not clear when it will be able to reopen. >>> more than 1,600 firefighters are trying to contain that clayton fire including this strike team from south san francisco. this

pashilk in the program two months before being paroled. damin pashilk will go before a judge tomorrow. got no response. the governor declared this state of emergency. victims will get much needed funding to start picking up the pieces. >> mireya villarreal, thanks. >>> now to louisiana, the flooding death toll rose today to 11. more than 30,000 people have been rescued. more than 11,000 are in shelters tonight. have a look at this. this is a school in hammond, louisiana, before the floods. this its the school now. surrounded. omar villfranca has the the latest. >> reporter: the historic flooding continues to spread throughout the state. nearly 90% of the homes in denim springs suffered flood damage. as the the water flows downstream, towns like sorrento are submerged. still looking for stranded residents. >> this is our low spot. tanya whitney, sorrento street >> very long road ahead. we fry to do the best we can do. a lot of the local people, you know, we band together. you know we ftry to help each other out. we're all in the same boat.

this is a closer look at damin anthony pashilk, the suspect arrested in the fire. 40-year-old was arrested in connection with numerous fires in lake county the last year. he has a long criminal history in the county. including recent arrests for drugs and parole violations. he reported the occupation to be a construction worker in san francisco. >> once in a while journalists get to deliver if news and that happened for amy hollyfield yesterday. a woman thought her parents' home inside the fire zone was lost. she could not go back and check for herself. [ inaudible ] who would not feel for the woman. the whom was not on the the official list in lower lake that survived the fire. because the media is allowed behind the fire lines, amy hollyfield took the address, went to check it out, and broke the good news. my gosh, touching to were what. we are so glad amy hollyfield could do that. there are 4,000 people still like that woman, waiting for word their home. firefighter say they are working as quickly as they can to keep residents informed. >> wow, incredible story.

damin anthony pashilk was in court yesterday. he entered the courtroom with his back continued to the cameras. documents show evidence against damin anthony pashilk comes from eyewitnesses, surveillance cameras and the high-tech tracking device. investigators say it linked pushmataha county to 17 act -- it linked damin anthony pashilk to 17 counts of arson. in five cases, the g.s.a. tracker puts pashilk at the scene of the arson fire at time of ignition. all the soberanes fire in monterey county is still burning this morning. it is now scorched 79,000 acres and 60% contained. evacuation orders are in effect. 57 homes have been destroyed. 400 are still threatened. a bulldoze are operator working the fire was killed. >> in the east bay, five people are out of the their home after an early fire in concord at a duplex on glen brook court shortly before 3:00 a.m. the firefighters say it started inside the kitsch were. everyone made it out. >> incredible video shows the c.h.p. rescuing a woman sick while hiking. the 66-year-old believe

the fire started one minute after pashilk passed by. so far he has been charged with starting or attempting to start 13 fires but we're told that more charges are on the way linking hlink ing him to at least four other fires. >>> new details now about the story and the blind man rescued from his burning home. a go fund me page has been set up after the fire destroyed his house in the east bay, happening in pittburg, the man has two roommates, one of whom is pregnant. the close friend said they all lost everything. the blind man has been hospitalized now for smoke inhalation. >>> and a wet mess to clean up for san francisco after more than 12 homes flooded after a new construction crew caused a water main break. more on the story. >> reporter: neighbors say they were absolutely stunned to see aw what they described as a river flowing down the street here. you can see the high water line near the side of the garage. in all, 14 homes impacted. >> it was literally so high that it was coming over the fence. >> reporter: water flowed from the

four days later, they say pashilk started the huge clayton fire. investigators don't believe he's responsible for last year's rocky fire caused by failed water heater near a marijuana grow. they also have not tied him to the valley fire which cal fire says was caused by a faulty hot tub. but the cause of the jerusalem fire and other smaller fires are still under investigation. >> we're looking at all fires and all instances. >> reporter: pashilk's attorney told me he is not convinced by the evidence so far. he told me the claims are real bear, when they say they saw him in lake county, i was in lake county. i don't know what that means. i don't know what they're claiming until i get more reports. pashilk will return to court in three weeks. he's being held in lieu of $5 million bail. henry lee, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> tonight cal fire updated containment of the clayton fire to 60%. the number of structures burned is also increased to 300 including 190 homes. the soberanes fire burning near big sur is also 60% contained. that fire has been burning now

. >> damin pashilk is facing 17 counts of arson in connection with several fires in the county over the past year . including this light and fire which has forced thousands from their homes. >> we talked with residents after the arrest. >> reporter: the clayton fire has torn through much of lake county and tonight the sheriff sent a message for those who live here. >> it is my pleasure to announce the arrest of damin pashilk . we were able to arrest him on 17 counts of arson. [ applause ] >> reporter: cheers from evacuees he learned that a suspected serial arsonist is behind bars in connection with the clayton fire and other lake county fires within the past year. >> i told the da and the cal fire prosecutor that if they do not have into the wall, i will. >> and arsonist to me amounts to domestic terrorist. >> reporter: she is concerned about her home. she was out of town when the clayton fire started. she got back and was unable to get to her house. but witnessed claims nearby. >> i stood there and watched it burn. it is all gone. i have in here a year and a half. >> reporter: she is h

they say pashilk is being charged with 17 counts of arson in connection to the clayton fire as well as several other fires across lake county over the past year. the clayton fire has burned more than four-thousand acres and destroyed more than 175 structures. officials surveyed the damage yesterday.. following historic flooding across southeast louisiana. the hard-hit areas could only be viewed by helicopter. several roads remain appear to be damaged or destroyed. in all.. 7 people died.. and more than 20-thousand had to be rescued. the state governor estimated the total damage will exceed their $6-million dollar threshold and the u-s government is stepping in to help. several tornadoes touched down in indiana yesterday.. this tornado was spotted in a neighborhood about 20 miles west of indianapolis. emergency crews tracked the funnel cloud.. to make sure of damage.. but ?no? reports of injuries. the arizona cardinals are in san diego.. and team 12's cameron cox is there with the latest pre-season madness.. donald trump unveils his plan to stop terrorism.. and hillary clinton teams up

pashilk will be in court >> mary bruce from california. thanks, mary. >>> we turn next to major developments in the race for the white house tonight. possible new trouble for hillary clinton. and donald trump, standing firm tonight. a new interview a short time ago, and in it, trump's reaction to all of this talk that his campaign desperately needs to pivot, a reset. tonight, what donald trump has to say about that. and abc's tom llamas is outside milwaukee. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump with a clear message when it comes to his style -- change is not on the way. >> i am who i am. it's me. i don't want to change. everyone talks about, oh, well you're going to pivot, you're going to. i don't want to pivot. i mean, you have to be you. if you start pivoting, you're not being honest with people. no, i am who i am. i've gotten here in a landslide and we'll see what happens. >> reporter: but following disastrous weeks fueled by off the cuff remarks, trump is trying to stay on-message, delivering his plan to combat terror with the help of a

pashilk almost didn't make it to the court hearing, right? >> reporter: yeah. there was some folks concerned about him from what we understand. he basically passed out on his way into the courtroom. he has received medical attention. he has access to that in jail. but in jail, they are also worried about his safety. for that reason, they are holding him separate from all the other inmates. for the first time, damin pashilk faced his 19 criminal charges in court, 14 of them for arson. and for the first time, the community he is accused of burning got to see him. >> he acted like a perfect coward that he is. you know? there's just no other word to describe that man. you have to be a coward to do that. >> reporter: we know he is accused of starting 12 fires in lake county and one failed attempt. the clayton fire is one of those fires, destroying more than 175 homes and burning nearly 4,000 acres. investigators say the jerusalem grade fire from last year may be another one of them. >> we're looking at all fires and all instances. cannot be specific. >> reporter: mo

. >> it is my pleasure to announce the arrest of damin pashilk. age 40 of clear lake. [ applause ] [ cheers and applause ] >> law enforcement believes 40-year-old california resident, damin pashilk is responsible for the clayton fire and several smaller fires. they have been investigating him for the past year. >> could this clayton fire have been prevented? >> the clayton fire could have been prevented had this >> cal fire chief ken pimlot confirms pashilk was incarcerated when he received fire fighting training from his agency. selected nonviolent inmates can some times be called on to help containment efforts. pashilk in the program two months before being paroled. judge tomorrow. we tried to reach out to him but got no response. the governor declared this state of emergency. victims will get much needed funding to start picking up the pieces. >> mireya villarreal, thanks. >>> now to louisiana, the flooding death toll rose today to 11. more than 30,000 people have been rescued. more than 11,000 are in shelters tonight. have a look at this. this

damin pashilk was arraigned. he passed out just before the hearing. million bail. >>> changes in commute habit on the golden gate bridge. more people are driving across the span while the number of commuters taking the bus dropped 2% since last year. a shortage of bus drivers and a high number of canceled runs apparently caused riders to lose confidence in the system. >>> a major recall to tell you about. some high school football teams are going to need new gear on the gridiron this fall. julie watts joins us now with word of a helmet recall that could be critical for young players. >> reporter: this is a huge safety issues. these helmets can crack putting players at greater risk of head injury. the consumer product safety commission issued a recall for 3 models. they were all either new or reconditioned between may of last year and march of this year. what's really troubling here though is in the most recent guidelines, the highly regarded virginia tech helmet ratings gave these models five out of five stars. so your child -- of your child plays foo

all for one person's foolishness, sad. >>> more details are expected tomorrow when damin pashilk will face the judge for the first time. joe vazquez, kpix 5. >> this is the latest from cal fire the clayton fire is 35% contained. the flames burned 4,000 acres and destroyed 175 structures. full containment is expected by the weekend. >>> the clayton fire is also keeping police very busy. catching looters. these three people were arrested in clear lake. some homeowners say it is the reason they ignored the evacuation orders and stayed put. he says he sat on his porch and watched police officers chasing after looters. >> i hurt a motorcycle fire up and haul butt. police department behind him. >> pg&e says 700 customers are still without power. it should be restored by the weekend. >>> big surf, poison oak, 415 cases. fire grew 76,000 acres and destroyed 57 homes and responsible for one death. tonight the fire is 60% contained. we will continue to monitor the california wildfires. we will have the latest on air and online on www.cbs5.com. >>> shake up at university of california at berkele

. >>> today, 40-year-old damin pashilk was charged with 14 counts of arson. also drug charges. ktvu's henry lee tells us the former construction worker fainted before he appeared in front of a judge in lakeport. >> reporter: damin pashilk passed out and needed some water. when he walked in he turned away from news cameras and kept his face down. investigators say pashilk started 11 smaller fires as well as a huge clayton fire that has destroyed nearly 200 homes and burned thousands of acres. >> we are confident this is our guy. serial arsonist. alleged. the year-long investigation will prove that. >> reporter: authorities will not say how they identified pashilk but they did say they were staking him out long before the clayton fire and that they never caught him in the act. >> i want to make sure it's understood that if any of our investigators had seen him start a fire, he would have been arrested. >> reporter: they couldn't arrest him immediately without proof. >> if you take your shot too soon, you jeopardize bring someone to justice who truly needs to be brought to justice

pashilk is suspected in self other cars with a long criminal history including recent arrests for drugs and parole violations. meteorologist mike nicco is monitoring the weather conditions if lake county closely. how does it look for firefighting efforts? it is going down hall. we started off on a good note with humidity up and winds down but we up to 89 and the humidity is down on 26% so saving grace is the winds are calm to six miles per hour. in the afternoon the winds pick up at 10 or 15 miles per hour blowing from nest to southeast but they will come again overnight of the big issue moving ahead, along with the temperatures being so warm and humidityening so dry, 97 today and wednesday, we are looking at low-to-mid 90s all the way through monday and when we dip down into the low 90s on saturday and sunday, the breezes are going to pick up a little bit and when we have relief often one side, it enhands the other side's affect on how the firefighters take on the fire. kristen? >> that is unfortunate. >> several schools will be closed for the rest of week due to the clayton fire inclu

damin pashilk faces numerous charges. he is a construction worker born in san francisco, he is behind bars this morning in the lake county jail. residence have been telling us they did believe the fire was intentionally set. >> alex is right here in lake county. show us some of the damage. >> reporter: good morning. i think there is sort of a sense of disbelief that someone would intentionally set a fire. we are in the hurt -- we are in the heart of lower lake. as i step out of the way you can see the burned cars. this is part of an auto repair shop. also in the midst of all of this there are some homes behind the businesses. now this morning we are getting word and there is a sense of relief that the police have arrested that man who they say is suspected of setting this destructive fire. [cheering] you can here the irruption from the crowd last night during a meeting. after the sheriff and cal fire chief told everyone in attendance that they have a man in custody in connection with the clayton fire. damin pashilk was ar

authorities now say they've arrested damin pashilk.ted more than another dozen fires as well over the past year. pete suratos has been following the story for more than 24 hours now. pete, we've also just learned that crews are trying to make progress as they announce the fire is 20% contained, up from 5% earlier this morning. >> reporter: that's right. new numbers that it is 20% contained. yesterday we showed you main street. there were the businesses that were burned down as a result of this clayton fire. and right now we're seeing this now, guys, daylight now. we're at quarter horse lane. you see this home in this area has been reduced to just rubble. remember that fire started on saturday on clayton creek road just off highway 29 and has since destroyed at least 175 structures. the fire burning close to 4,000 acres and many of the structures effected on sunday when those winds and high temperatures led to spot fires and lower lake. according to cal firing looking at $10 million worth of damages in the area. leaving families homeles

. >> he has been identified as damin pashilk. this is his photograph. he is 40 years old and lives in clear like. the massive clayton fire is not the only fire he is accused of starting. >>> with give you an update against the fire in lake county. it is only 5% contained. you can see some of the fire aftermath in lower lake. 175 homes and businesses have been destroyed. 1500 more are threatened. the fire is burning near highway 29. evacuations have been ordered. >> there is a lot of relief that the suspected arsonist is behind bars. >> there was good reaction when the arrest happened. >> reporter: is -- you talk with people who learned of the news and many of them said, we are not surprised. this evening behind me in lower lake you can see the damage from these fires and it is extensive. the clayton fire has through much of lake county and the sheriff had a message for those who live here. >> it is my pleasure to announce the arrest of damin pashilk . we were able to arrest him on 17 counts of arson. >>> cheers from a vacuum is who learned in arsonist i

pashilk's hearing is 1:15 this afternoon at the superior court house in lakeport. live in the newsroom, anne makovec, kpix 5. >> any word on when the evacuees can return home? >> reporter: it's going to be a process over the next several days. firefighters say they are going to start escorting so many people back to their properties as soon as today. but a lot of the evacuees have been very concerned about looting. in fact, police arrested three looting suspects yesterday. >> a fire in a 24-hour recording suited glow san jose happened around 8:-- studio in san jose happened around 8:45 last night at west san carlos street. it houses a tattoo shop. investigators say that a black pickup hit the gas meter on the side of the building starting the fire. everyone in the car and building were okay according to police. the cause is under investigation. >>> starting today, expect delays on bart lines between the morning and evening commutes. bart will single track trains between south fremont and hayward while it replaces power infrastructure and cabling. trains will be del

. >>> last night authorities announced the arrest of this man pashilk who accused of -- who is accused of starting the fire. they also say that he worked as an inmate firefighter when he was serving time for drug and weapons charges back in 2007. >> tonight, we have live team coverage from lake county. ktvu tom vacar talked to people who lost their homes. >> we'll start though with tara moriarty who is live in lake county. >> reporter: yeah, they don't believe that pashilk started the fires, but they have evidence linking him to 16 other fires that stretch back to last year. >> reporter: kayla main and her four children have been staying at their homes house when flames whipped through their neighborhood. >> i couldn't get up there to get diapers, wipes, nothing. we don't have the money to keep doing this, you know, it is not fair. >> reporter: this is the second time they have been displaced by fires. the 40-year-old damin pashilk is responsible, living two doors down from caleb's mother, valerie. she has known the suspect for 27 years. >> i don't see him doing it, he wouldn't put kid

. >> it is my pleasure to announce the arrest of damon anthony pashilk on 17 counts of arson. authorities charging damon pashilk with starting a fire in lake county that destroyed 175 homes and businesses over the weekend clearlake now being lifted. but residents are fuming. >> it makes me angry. so angry. >> if it was up to me, i would have him be in a place where he found a can of gasoline and a lit match and let things happen the way they happen. ben pashilk is believed to be : connected to several other fires in lake county, and once worked as an inmate firefighter while serving time for drug and weapons charges. suspected arsonist off the street and one who, we allege, started 17 fires. ben that blue cut fire, which : broke out today is tonight covering an area of 14 square miles. maria: 65 years later, the remains of a local war hero are finally home. a flag-draped casket carrying the remains of corporal ronald sparks rolled off a plane at logan. a procession then guided the remains to sparks' hometown of cambridge. sparks died at the age of 19 in a prisoner of war camp