The Legacy of WWII -- James Reily
James Reily Sr. was a bombadier in a B-24 during World War II, flying missions out of Italy to destroy German airplane factories. On his 10th mission, the plane was shot down.
The 10-person crew all bailed out and parachuted into Yugolsavia. When they landed they ran, but were quickly captured. They spent several months in captivity. They were in the camp made famous by "The Great Escape," although not when that happened.
They were in a camp where they were treated almost like guests, decent food and baseball equipment for exercising.
They were also in another camp infested with rats. And they survived a 10-day march, much of it through snow, as the Russians pushed into Germany near the end of the war.
Reily talked about all that this morning aboard the Midway Museum, where the U-T is filming oral histories as part of a year-long Legacy of World War II project. Then he remembered something that made his face break into a wide smile.
At the last camp, a tank from Gen. George Patton's army rolled in. The thousands of prisoners were being liberated. Off in the distance, Reily could see a Nazi swastika flag being taken down. The U.S. flag went up in its place.
"I've never heard louder cheering in my life," Reily said.