From: Marc Reeve
Date: 8/9/2004 6:47 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

B2431 wrote:

From: "Richard Johnson"
Date: 8/8/2004 4:32 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

To be honest, I prefer reading biographies and autobiographies as well as a
good factual histories on WW2 (and other topics).

But once and a while you just want to kick back and watch a good war movie,
despite non-historical motivations and distortion of the truth. With the
Great Escape, I got out Brickhill's book, an autobiography by Jerry Sage,
and a few other histories of the real Great Escape and watched the movie
with an informed background, and tried to tie in all the amalgamated
characters. The fact that Wally Floody was the technical advisor for the
film helped push its authenticity. But, even still, personalities like
Steve
McQueen forced some distortion of the facts. But, at least the famed
motorcycle chase made the film a little more attractive to the younger
crowds, and if it takes a little stretching of the truth to interest people
in such historical events, perhaps even getting them to read more, then I
think it is worth the price.


In fact while the Yanks helped dig the tunnels they were no longer in the
camp
at the time of the break out. The mass shootings near the end were a
simplification. The 50 were murdered in 2s and 3s.

They (Yanks) were still in the camp but they had been moved to a
separate compound.
--
Marc Reeve

I stand corrected. I read Brickhill's book years ago and I forgot that point.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired