‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’
The Daring True Story of an Allied Getaway During WWII
What do Steve “The King of Cool” McQueen, Richard Attenborough, and James Garner have in common? They all starred in the 1963 World War II classic “The Great Escape.” What makes the movie amazing to watch isn’t just that it’s full of legendary stars like McQueen and Garner or the fact that the action sequences were filmed using practical stunts, not special effects. What makes it truly incredible is that this story actually happened. Based on WWII veteran Paul Brickhill’s book, “The Great Escape” depicts a group of Allied officers as they attempt to escape from Stalag Luft III, one of the most heavily reinforced prison camps under German watch. Loose sand, raised prison housing,
and seismographic microphones were all meant to deter prisoners from digging their way out. But one prisoner wasn’t discouraged. Squadron Leader Roger Bushell saw these factors as obstacles to overcome rather than inescapable conditions. And in the spring of 1943, he initiated a plan to get himself and 200 of his fellow prisoners out of the camp. During the next year, over 600 prisoners helped with the effort of digging tunnels underneath Stalag Luft III. They had to be deep enough that the microphones couldn’t detect them and long enough to reach outside of the camp’s walls. On a chilly night in 1944 — a year after the
endeavor began — one tunnel was finally ready, and the prisoners began their exit.
In all, 76 Allied men managed to escape from Stalag Luft III. While freedom was short-lived for some, the escapees were successful in redirecting Nazi efforts from the front lines. And as veteran Jack Lyon said of the escape, “It did do a lot for morale, particularly for those prisoners who’d been there for a long time. They felt they were able to contribute something, even if they weren’t able to get out.” For the rest of the story, you’ll have to watch the movie or read the book. You can watch “The Great Escape” on Amazon Prime, and you can find Brickhill’s daring tale at most book retailers.
uality is one of the core values we live by at Dri Tech Corp because we know that what we produce raises the standard for others. The work we do is inherently different than the work many other industries do because our margin of error must be nonexistent. Quality: Our Fourth Core Value VIC’S CORNER We build roofs and maintain the integrity of building exteriors. So if we’re only 99% successful on a job, then we have failed. A roof that’s only 99% effective at protecting everyone in your building means there’s 1% left unprotected, and that 1% leaves room for a lot of damage when it’s up against the elements. Our quality standard is 100% because 99% simply isn’t enough for what we do. Our roofs don’t leak. That’s always been our promise because that’s how we want to be remembered. There are no small accidents in what we do, which means we can’t hold ourselves to small standards. We don’t want to be remembered as the business whose roofs don’t leak most of the time. We want to be known as the business whose roofs don’t leak — ever, and that means providing the best quality around.
–Vic
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