Ernest Nelson Thorp |
![Image of Ernest Nelson Thorp](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090114131448im_/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/afc2001001/service/00990/ph0016001i.jpg)
Ernest Thorp [detail] | World War II, 1939-1946
Army Air Forces/Corps
452nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
San Antonio, Texas; Chickasaw, Enid, Altus, Oklahoma; Salt Lake City, Utah; Sioux City, Iowa; Deopham Green, United Kingdom; Germany; European Theater
Captain
Yes
Clinton, IL
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Even in summer, the North Sea is a cold place for a pilot to ditch his plane, but thats what Captain Ernest Thorp did on August 4, 1944, when his bomber suffered irreparable flak damage during a run over Germany. Fortunately for Thorp, a fishing boat was in the area, and he was rescued and handed over to German authorities. He spent most of his time as a POW in two camps, with a six-week forced march as a kind of intermission. Food was never far from his mind; liberation day by Allied troops found Thorp in the camp kitchen, whipping up a batch of pudding. The detailed diaries he kept in captivity allowed him to write a memoir, which includes lists of books he read and the contents of every food parcel he received while imprisoned.
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