Jim Redman

Tunnel Under the Sun Jim Redman

On December 23, 1944, 25 German prisoners of war escaped by tunneling ou of a POW camp in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the largest breakout of prisoners held in the U. S. during all of World War II. The mastermind was a U-boat commander by the name of Jurgen Wattenburg, who pulled off this daring feat under the noses of his captors. Wattenburg and his comrades hoped to reach Mexico from where they planned to make their way back to Germany. Their story is one of brilliant planning and execution, as well as shockingly inept efforts by those in charge of guarding them.