"I somersaulted backwards, got out of my parachute harness in a couple of seconds, and stood up with my back to several dozen German soldiers... I hated to face the reality that I was about to undergo a drastic change in my 'life style.'" Memoirs, Speech at Montgomery, p. 2

Nathaniel G. Raley

Nathaniel Raley P.O.W. ID Photograph, Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Army Air Forces/Corps Unit: 48th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force and 15th Air Force Service Location: Mediterranean; European Theater Rank: First Lieutenant POW: Yes Place of Birth: Demopolis, AL

Flying in support of the invasion at Anzio, Nathaniel Raley was shot down by ground fire. Captured by the Germans, he wound up at Stalag Luft I, populated entirely by fliers from several Allied air forces. He wryly describes his 15 months in captivity as "a learning experience." Among the lessons: how to tell when an interrogator is lying to get information and the price a prisoner pays for touching the perimeter wire fence in a stalag.