Article

2004-03-17

Ex-POWs Mark 60th Anniversary of "The Great Escape"

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Posted by Steve White 2004-03-17 11:29:54 PM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 ...Two years ago at the Doolittle raiders' reunion, I had a chance to meet retired General Davy Jones - one of the Raiders, a prisoner and escapee from Luftstalag III and according to legend the inspiration for Steve McQueen's character in The Great Escape. Given what he was like then - in his 90s - I can only imagine what kind of fits he gave the Germans.
Treasure each and every one of these men. They need to know that when they move on, we will not give up the fight.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2004-3-17 1:51:51 AM|| 2004-3-17 1:51:51 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 "They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them"

Top boys - nice monocle!

Posted by Howard UK 2004-3-17 4:37:01 AM|| 2004-3-17 4:37:01 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 always admire these old war ime guys, even the ones in thier uniform with all thier medals who stand outside my local church at weekend scowling at frowning at anyone who walks past,guess alot of them think people arn't gratefull.Wonder when WW3 comes the current generation of brits could be as big heros as these, somehow with todays modern yoof culture i think not,they'd be trying to shoot thier waepons like in the movies (picture guy holding pistol one handed at a horizontel angle jumping around screaming rap slogans as he fires hundreds of round off from his infinate bullet supply). Not saying our professionals are bad though cos thier as good as Israeli or American armed forces which is good enough for me. Decades of lefty defence money cuts havn't been good though for us. wonder if the BBC will find a way to sneer at these heros,perhaps thier anti war website will, or perhaps thier 'doctered' have your say section will find a foreign nobody to do it for them as they normally do.. Note sneer commas.

Posted by Jon Shep U.K 2004-3-17 8:31:33 AM|| 2004-3-17 8:31:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Sneer marks duly noted.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-3-17 8:44:55 AM|| 2004-3-17 8:44:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Re. the BBC Have Your Say ~~Censored~~ pages. I used to have a look, and posted comments occasionally. Some would find their way onto the pages, but only ever those close to the BBC's own way of thinking, such as ambivalence towards the police keeping criminals' DNA samples. Haven't bothered with Have Your Say a lot in the last year, but occasionally I use the form just to lay into the BBC's reporting itself. Some sod at the Beeb's reading them, after all.

Did either of you guys hear Alistair Campbell interviewed by Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 after Hutton's report? That was an absolutely classic hour of radio. Campbell verbally bludgeoned Vine as caller after caller was put through critical of Blair, the Government and the war. Vine could come up with no response to Campbell's tirades against BBC bias and the selective blocking of anti-Beeb points of view. He just whimpered occasionally. I actually changed my opinion of Campbell, big time, after Hutton.

Posted by Bulldog 2004-3-17 9:16:13 AM|| 2004-3-17 9:16:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Don't know. I still think Cambell's a self-serving slimey shit. Quite agree with 'Have your say ~~censored~~' though. You have to tow a fairly sterile line to get published. Fair point.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-3-17 9:32:29 AM|| 2004-3-17 9:32:29 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 He's getting his own interview show on Channel Five later in the year. Should be good, but how on earth are they going to be able to persuade anyone to go on it?! Might turn out to be Five's version of HardTalk.

Posted by Bulldog 2004-3-17 9:41:42 AM|| 2004-3-17 9:41:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Hard talk, wasn't that the one with the little fat balding fella who knowbody knew who he was or where he came from or even where hes gone too.He was Mysterious,but shit

Posted by Jon Shep U.K 2004-3-17 9:47:31 AM|| 2004-3-17 9:47:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Might involve fisticuffs and swearing.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-3-17 10:04:51 AM|| 2004-3-17 10:04:51 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 HARDtalk. Shit meaning "good", right?! Best BBC interview programme ever! Tim Sebastian don't take no shit from anyone...

Posted by Bulldog 2004-3-17 10:06:20 AM|| 2004-3-17 10:06:20 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Spicy little prog on Beeb News24. Littered with an assortment of unhinged fruitcakes from around the globe. Another example of Aunty's brilliance.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-3-17 10:17:11 AM|| 2004-3-17 10:17:11 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 Hmm, maybe an example of even a stopped clock getting the time right twice a day...

Posted by Bulldog 2004-3-17 10:27:10 AM|| 2004-3-17 10:27:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 I had the pleasure of meeting one of the RAF gents from Stalag III. He is/was an architect in Chicago and the owner of the Red Lion Pub on Lincoln Ave (across from the Biograph Cinema where Dillinger was shot dead by the FBI).

He was too injured to go out with the lads but used his skills in engineering to help design the tunnel support systems. He published his sketch book of POW camp life in the late '80's-early '90's. His son Colin runs the pub now. Stop in. Good Shepards Pie and a nice pint of Bass.

Posted by JDB 2004-3-17 8:15:20 PM|| 2004-3-17 8:15:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Good tip. Duly acknowledged.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-3-18 4:13:13 AM|| 2004-3-18 4:13:13 AM|| Front Page Top

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