Retired Air Force Lt. Col James Armstrong

History is fascinating and to be able to get it first hand, amazing. The Bainbridge Rotarians were taken back to World War ll when retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Armstrong recanted his four months trying to escape occupied France.

Shot down on his 11th mission in 1943  Col. Armstrong was a B-17 pilot with the 384th Bomb Group. He and his squadron were on a mission in Germany and had just completed bombing an important target in Stuttgart, Germany when they were attacked by German fighters.

Col. Armstrong was shot down in Normandy. After parachuting out of his aircraft he hit the group with bumps, bruises, burns and a sprained ankle. He immediately starting using his survival training.

It wasn't long until he was discovered by a Frenchman as he drank water from a ditch. With the Frenchman's help Armstrong hid in the woods eight days before the Frenchman's neighbors got suspicious of him taking food into the woods.

From there, Armstrong began walking toward Paris using a compass that he still has today. He walked along the Seine River and upon arriving in Triesur-Seine was taken to a doctor who treated his burns and gave him a place to stay. After several days Armstrong was taken by the doctor on a train to Paris.

In Paris he meet members of the French Resistance and was taken to Drancy. There Armstrong joined with others also trying to Escape. Members of the French Resistance provided Armstrong and the others with shelter and false French ID cards.

Starting in late October of 1943, the group was taken on several escape attempts. Each attempt was throughly planned but each failed. After each failed attempt they had to make the dangerous train ride back to Paris.

Finally, on January 21, 1944 Armstrong and 30 others boarded a boat and waited for the tides to rise. When they did the boat was able to drift into the channel.

Lt. Col Armstrong not only has written a book about his escape, he has also been able to recover his parachute and pack. The book is out of print now but can probably be found in used book stores.

Lt. Col Armstrong resides in Thomasville and is a minister. He still remembers his days at the Bainbridge Air base and was in the first class of cadets to graduate.