Spitfire Down: The Wwii Camp Where Allies And Germans Mixed

[T_O_A_D]

Nice read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13924720

[FoolTrottel]

Good read indeed, thanks!

[DD_Arthur]

Fascinating read Toad. A couple of things stand out; We returned this guy to internment after he escaped!! I suppose at the time Churchill was desperate to get the Irish PM de Valera to allow British ships to use Irish ports during the battle of the Atlantic. Unsuccessfully as it turned out. I could say several things about Eamonn de Valera and his government but lets just leave it while remembering that while over 50,000 Irishmen chose to enlist in the British army to fight Hitler during WW2 the Irish government choose to remain so neutral they even managed to send their regrets to Berlin through their diplomatic staff on learning of Hitlers death in May '45!!!

The other thing that slaps me round the face is that the Eagle pilots were stripped of their American citizenship!!! I find that astonishing! These free citizens of a friendly democracy came to help their cousins put down a monster and FDR's administration did that to them!? Never knew that at all. In the UK I don't think our government can do that. It might be different if you've become a naturalised citizen but if you're born British there's no way to take that away from you.

[T_O_A_D]

IIRC they stripped it from the guys that went to China and flew with Chenault as well.

But once USA entered the war it was all retroactive. Politics

[SkyPup]

Good find, TOAD.