Lee Carl "Shorty" Gordon

Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force

Lee Carl Gordon was born on 8 June 1922.

Gordon is believed to have been the first American prisoner of war to successfully escape from a German Prisoner of War camp during World War II. He escaped from Stalag VIIA on 13 October 1943. Prior to this he had tried to escape twice, once on a bicycle.

Gordon was serving as a ball turret gunner with the Army Air Corp's 305th Bomb Group when his B-17 was shot down over Germany on 26 February 1943. After escaping from the camp, he rode freight trains to France, where a French Resistance group reunited him with the Allied forces.

When he returned to the U.S., he was awarded the Silver Star and traveled the country on a war bond tour. He was featured in a 2000 History Channel documentary, "Escape From A Living Hell." He also served in the Korean and Vietnam wars as a Flight Engineer before retiring from the Air Force in 1969.

Death and Burial

Master Sergeant Lee Carl Gordon died on 14 November 2006. He is buried at Rockville Cemetery in Suisun City, CA.