Bill Ash is a genuine
American hero whom most people know, although they don’t.
I’ll explain. In 1939, this young
Texan decided to go and fight
Hitler. Since
the
U.S. hadn't yet joined the war effort, Ash hitchhiked to
Canada and joined
the
Royal Canadian Air Force. They trained him and sent him to
England where he
flew
Spitfires on some of the most daring missions.
In
March of '42, he was shot down over
France. He survived the crash land, and
then evaded capture for months with the help of locals. Eventually, he was
betrayed to the
Gestapo and he was captured.
The
Luftwaffe moved him to one of the most
severe Prisoner of War camps,
Stalag Luft III. From there, he became the man
they could not hold — a master escape artist who broke out of that camp and
many others.
Mr.Ash learned after the war, that by taking money from the crown, he had lost his
American citizenship. He then became a naturalized
British subject.That's some reward for answering the call, huh?
Any of this sounds familiar? The
Steve McQueen movie,
The Great Escape was based on
Ash's life.
Mr. Ash turns 95 years old this week.
