Thanks for the quick response. I guess their decision worked for me as it's one of the few things I remember from way back then. It was interesting to see Tom Skerritt and Rene Auberjonois in it. A couple great actors I always enjoy to see.

I see it was a TV-movie starring Doug McClure and Chuck Connors. I looked up Rene Auberjonois and immediately recognised him as "Odo" in DS9.

Didn't see Tom Skerritt mentioned but I recognise him, too.

I've got a lot of time for Matt Damon as an actor and the "Bourne" movies are keepers for me. Have you seen "The Monuments Men" yet (George Clooney, Matt Damon). Great movie. Captures the feel of time and place perfectly. My dad was in Germany at this time; after he recovered from being blown up (see "Hitler Tried To Get My Dad" thread) they put him in the Civilian Control Commission.

No, I haven't seen it yet but hopefully soon. I'll have to check the thread about your dad. Sounds very interesting.

That thread has gained quite some momentum: some really good stuff has been posted there and I'm in hopes there'll eventually be someone with a PoW story.

I have a WWII POW story. Actually involving my grandfather who was US Army Signal Corps and German POWs.Certain details I do not have as my grandfather passed away 30 years ago and he had forgotten names.

Most of the war my grandfather had it pretty easy he was Signal Corps and spent 80% of his war in England.They would use POWs in the warehouse section to help organize things. Anyway according to my grandfather a German officer complained to him that he suspected that the Americans where throwing away letters POWs had written. Anyway my grandfather managed to find out that no letters had been thrown away. I suppose that the German officer was pleased enough or finally did get a return letter and believed what my grandfather had told him.

The kind act did not go unrewarded. The German officer informed my grandfather a few weeks later that a group of diehards where planning to make an escape by hiding in the warehouse and having one man feign an injury to get one of the Americans to approach.At which point they would take his weapon(obviously killing him in the process) their goal was to escape into the English countryside and of course attempt to sabotage vital facilities.

Unfortunately my grandfather never did know the Germans complete name or where he was from in Germany. Kind of ironic of course as had the officer not given the warning those diehards might have killed my grandfather or whom ever else might have been on duty at the time had they gotten a chance to carry out their escape plan.

Another story about POWs from my fathers history teacher in high school(this would have been in the early 60's). This time in Italy in Sicily. Apparently the future history teacher was a member of a US Army squad on patrol as they came over the top of a hill in a village down below was a much more sizable force of Italians. At first the squad thought their gooses where cooked being clearly outnumbered so they got ready for what was coming....which was the entire Italian unit which out manned and out gunned the single American squad surrendering to them instead of attacking. Needless to say they headed back to American lines before anyone changed their minds. Good thing I recon that that particular units morale was busted when they saw the Americans at the top of the hill.

P.O.W book recommendations.
 

Here's a book I would strongly recommend to any fan of P.O.W books, it's called Under the Wire by William Ash and Brendan Foley. The book is about William "Bill" Ash who grew up in Depression Era Texas, who so badly wanted to fight the Nazis he tried to join the RCAF (and failed to do so a couple times) and eventually made to England where he flew Spitfires in the RAF and was eventually shot down. As was said in the book Bill was an "American, flying for Canada, fighting for England, and was shot down over France and captured by the Germans!" His escapes where many and truly legendary.

Another book I would also recommend if it can be found is My War With Imperial Japan by Richard Vernon Hill, Maj. (Ret.), this book is about an American solder who gets caught up in the Invasion of the Philippines, escapes once to the island fortress of Corregidor and is eventually captured by the Japanese and is one of many to suffer the horrors of the Bataan Death March. While in a holding camp this soldier manages to escape again this time (if I remember right) swimming out to a partly sunken freighter in Manila Bay where he hides for a few days, then swims to shore on the southern side of Manila Bay and continues to make his down south. On the way he meets a couple of others P.O.Ws who also managed to escape, together and with the help of the Filipinos make their way further and further from the Japanese. They eventually manage to get a boat from of all places a leper colony! Then the P.O.Ws sailed some 4,000 miles though enemy infested waters and having being stopped by IJN destroyers and flown over and in one instance strafed by Zeros finally make it to Australia. I read this book some odd years ago and it's really worth a read but it is somewhat hard to come by (I looked for it in the library system with no luck) but it can be bought at places like Amazon.

Here's a book you guys would be interested in.

"The war journal of Major Rocky Gause"

This guy along with a couple other GI's escaped the fall of Corregidor and managed to sail a leaky open boat all the way to Australia dodging the Japanese along the way.

Well written and has a bunch of pictures.

Here is a pic of the rest of my POW book collection.

http://home.comcast.net/~rdsterling/...ccad14abeef220

Thanks, Pal...
 

Thanks, Stealhead, and you other guys who've kept this thread alive while I've been confined unexpectedly not by the Germans, but in a hospital about as hard to get out of as Colditz. It looks like some fabulous catch-up reading for me!

My Books
 

http://i.imgur.com/ie0wCj8.jpg?1

Wanted to follow August's good idea: one or two I can't find right now...

That's a pretty neat collection. What's also interesting is out of all of them I could only find two matches to what I have. The PR Reid book and The Wooden Horse.

Lot's of material in this genre apparently.

Hope you are feeling better.

Thanks, August. I have got The Great Escape somewhere, plus a large format book featuring photos of the many and various fake items and equipment, disguises etc fabricated by prisoners in camps to aid their escapes.

I was remembering earlier today another POW film (British, black & white, 1950s) which I don't think got mentioned in this thread. I don't remember the name of it but it starred James Robertson Justice as a "boffin" (scientist) captured and interned either by the Germans or Italians after an aerial sortie went wrong. The prison camp inmates had to get him out because of important secrets he possessed.

Very Important Person (1961)

http://www.themoviescene.co.uk/revie...nt-person.html

http://i.imgur.com/uD2J48N.png?1


That's the one; thanks for the link, Jim.

Your welcome matey.

Esc on the PC:
 

http://i.imgur.com/ZbAoo63.jpg?1


On the first page I mentioned PoW escape games for the pc. These are the two I have, and as far as I know are the only two. I played them as playstation 2 games at first, then found them for the pc: much better to play some games in this way, as many people agree.

They may seem a bit dated by comparison with Bad Company 2 and suchlike games, but the graphics are still extremely good, giving a perfect sense of place, and your pursuers can still run fast and shoot straight.

In the game on the right you get to visit Colditz...

I too have both of those games. I really liked how The Great Escape game added a bit more depth to the characters by adding levels that told their story and gave some details into the preparations needed to even attempt to escape from a prisoner of war camp. As for Prisoner of War, the story line was a bit far fetched although it was plausible, I had always hoped that someone would make a second Prisoner of War game with maybe a mix of tales from Pat Reid's books on Colditz and from Bill Ash's book Under the Wire.

Nice to hear from you again, Hellmut
 

I never actually concluded the second game on PS2: I was unable, I seem to remember, to get hold of a camera with which to photograph the "traitor" in the Kommandant's office, which was the final task at the end.

I'm playing them both through on pc now, so hoping for better luck this time! Thanks so much for your feedback.

There is another PoW film I ought to mention: "Hart's War" starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell. The US perspective on PoW life seems somewhat darker on film than the British (I'm thinking also of "Stalag 17", with William Holden) excepting of course the barmy comedy of "Hogan's Heroes", which inspired this thread in the first place.

That was a surprisingly good movie. A POW escape movie that turns into a racial movie that turns into a courtroom drama that turns into a sabotage movie. Well done and the choice for camp commandant was excellent. A very Dracula like portrayal.