World War II Honoree

George J. Beichl

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Honored By

Friends of American Heroes

HE PROUDLY SERVED HIS COUNTRY WHEN HE WAS DRAFTED INTO THE U.S. ARMY DURING WWII. ON FEBRUARY 22, 1945 HE SERVED IN THE INFANTRY AND WAS REPORTED KILLED IN ACTION TO HIS FAMILY BUT HE WAS MERELY MISSING IN ACTION AND TAKEN PRISONER WHEN HIS UNIT, WHILE IN A FOREST, CAME UNDER ATTACK BY HEAVY ENEMY BOMBING AND ALMOST EVERYONE WAS KILLED. HE WAS ASSUMED DEAD BUT WAS INSTEAD TAKEN PRISONER. BECAUSE HE WAS FLUENT IN GERMAN HE BECAME AN INFORMAL TRANSLATOR IN STALAG 12-A. HE WAS FREED WHEN ALLIED PLANES BOMBED THE TRAIN HE WAS BEING TRANSPORTED ON. THE NOW FREED PRISONERS GATHERED IN A FIELD AND ARRANGED THEIR BODIES TO SPELL 'POW' AND THE PLANES VEERED OFF. AFTER HIS RESCUE HE SPENT THE REST OF THE WAR AT LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO WORKING ON PROPULSION FOR THE MANHATTAN PROJECT TO DEVELOP THE ATOMIC BOMB.