"You can't take things for granted. The old saying, 'It'll never happen to me,' is so foolish." (Video Interview)

Donald G. Cassidy

Donald G. Cassidy, 1940s War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Air Forces/Corps Unit: 570th Squadron, 390th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force Service Location: European Theater; Krems, Austria Rank: Technical Sergeant POW: Yes Place of Birth: Kingston, NY

Stalag 17 wasn't just a hit play and an Oscar-winning movie. It was a real POW camp, located near Krems, Austria, and home to thousands of Allied airmen from October 1943 to the end of the war. One of its residents was American aerial gunner Donald Cassidy, who was shot down over Germany in November 1943. Cassidy found he had to fashion his own food utensils, but he somehow managed to find enough to eat to keep his weight from dropping precipitously. The highlight of any day in Cassidy's barracks was a news report read out by a G.I. nicknamed Whitey; if no guards were within earshot, Whitey would offer the lowdown on the progress of Allied troop advances.