# Jimmy James, the Great Escapee of WWII, Dead at 92 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990 "2008-02-02T16:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/1 "2008-02-02T16:25:05Z")
Story [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/world/europe/31james.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/G/Goldstein,%20Richard). In Shrewsbury, England. He had lived in Ludlow. He made at least 11 unsuccessful escape attempts in five years as a POW, including the Great Escape a la Steve McQueen fame, during which James was the 39th of the 76 men through the tunnel in the real-life episode. Alas! Only three made it to freedom that time, and he was not one of them. RIP, Lieutenant James. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/2 "2008-02-02T16:46:54Z")
Interesting fellow. Before reading that obituary, I wasn’t aware that Hitler ordered the execution of 50 of the 73 recaptured after the Great Escape, and that only 3 made it out. Bloody sad. Mr James was a fortunate man. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/3 "2008-02-02T17:11:54Z")
Actually, Hitler’s first reaction was to order them all executed. He relented only after Göring pointed out that doing so might lead to retaliations against German POWs, and then only to the extent that “more than half” had to die. I believe that it was Artur Nebe who had to make the selection, and his secretary reported that he was very upset over it. I first read about Jimmy James in Paul Brickhill’s book about the Stalag Luft III breakout. Indeed a colo(u)rful character. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/4 "2008-02-02T17:24:51Z")
Only the British could call someone who never escaped “The Great Escapee”, like the victory at Dunkirk. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/5 "2008-02-02T19:02:42Z")
[QUOTE=OttoDaFe] I believe that it was Artur Nebe who had to make the selection, and his secretary reported that he was very upset over it. [/QUOTE] He was [executed as well](http://www.holocaust-education.dk/ordforklaringer/artur_Nebe.html), later, for treason against Hitler after a failed conspiracy. Some say he was killed using piano wire, but no one seems to have proof of that. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/6 "2008-02-02T19:07:13Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] Only the British could call someone who never escaped “The Great Escapee”, like the victory at Dunkirk. [/QUOTE] That’s what he’s [called](http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23142660-954,00.html) in Australia as well. So far, apart from the International Herald Tribune and the title of this thread, that’s the only reference to Mr. James as such I can find. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/7 "2008-02-03T02:06:41Z")
Well, he did actually escape twice. Was just recaptured. He definitely put his heart into his efforts. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/8 "2008-02-03T02:24:21Z")
All that and he was D.B. Cooper too! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/9 "2008-02-03T02:45:25Z")
My respect to a fallen hero. A failure at his named task? Perhaps, but that’s what it’s all about: it doesn’t matter that he didn’t achieve his goal; just that he tried, incessantly, indomitably, in the face of evil, and with humility. His generation has a lot to teach mine, and I only hope we can learn beore it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/10 "2008-02-03T13:44:16Z")
My father knows a guy(American) who was a bomber pilot in WWII. Got shot down and interned. Escaped, and was recaptured, three times. Once he stayed free for almost two weeks, due to a German farmer allowing him to hide out in his barn. After the war he raced motorcycles, then took up work as a cropduster. So he flew again. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-james-the-great-escapee-of-wwii-dead-at-92/435990/11 "2008-02-03T14:26:57Z")
[QUOTE=NicePete] All that and he was D.B. Cooper too! [/QUOTE] Doobie Keebler