TEN EXCITING DAYS
WOUNDED U.S. AIRMAN
LONDON, June 7,
A United States Bth Air Force fighter pilot has returned to base after losing a stone and a half in weight in ten of the most exciting days of his life.
Wounded when he baled out near Lubeck in April, Captain Vandelaria. of Los Angeles, had to elude German dogs by climbing trees and then swim one and a half miles across a lake. Two German soldiers saw him emerging from a wood, and began to fire. He fell to the ground, but pulled out his pistol and killed them both. Later, two civilians discovered him. "They rushed to attack me with pitchforks," he said, "but I shot both of them."
Captured later, he was menaced by Hitler Youths armed with knives, and threatened with death by Todt workers who, in spite of his uniform, accused him of being a civilian spy. Shunted from place to place, he once escaped by digging a hole in the rear wall of a makeshift gaol, but he was trailed by dogs and recaptured after two hours.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 136, 11 June 1945, Page 5
Word Count
182TEN EXCITING DAYS Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 136, 11 June 1945, Page 5
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