Shot down 22 June 1943 in B-17 42-5132 'Royal Flush. ' Survived.



It was navigator Maury Herman's 9th mission - his 7th aboard 'Royal Flush'- objective the synthetic rubber plant at Huls. Seven of the crew, including Maury, bailed out after the plane was badly damaged by fighters, and landed near Wesel. He managed to evade for the next ten hours, hiding in the woods as German soldiers hunted for survivors. After a few hours sleep he found a deserted farmhouse and helped himself to an old pair of overalls and a coat. He took to the road again, stole a bicycle and greeted the people working in the fields with his basic German, apparently raising no suspicions. At six in the evening he arrived at a bridge over the Maas and -seeing that the crossing was well-guarded, Holland 'just a 100 yards away '- bided his time. At dusk as he was preparing to swim across he was apprehended by a soldier he had failed to spot and was taken prisoner.



Aged just 21 at the time Maury was held at Stalag Luft 111 until 28th January 1945 - during which time he had made two unsuccessful attempts to escape -when the Germans evacuated the camp as Russian forces reached the Oder. He tried again at the next camp where he spent two more months until the Germans evacuated them again on 9th April 1945. Maury never gave up and had another go on the march out of Stalag Luft 111D, this time apparently successful.



He stayed on in the Air Force until 1960 and went on to work for Lockheed Aircraft.