1Fritz Joubert Duquesne
Fritz Joubert Duquesne fought against Britain in the Boer War, was captured and held as a POW in Bermuda, escaped to the USA where he became a secret agent for Germany during both World Wars, heading up the largest espionage ring in American history.
2Galvanized Yankees
250 Union soldiers surrendered to the Confederates, enlisted in the Confederate Army while held as POWS, were recaptured by the Union Army, and then re-enlisted as Union soldiers. They were called Galvanized Yankees.
3Grizzly bear
A group of escaped German POWs returned to Camp Ozada in Alberta, Canada voluntarily after encountering a grizzly bear.
4Walter Frederick Morrison
Walter Frederick Morrison, the inventor of the Frisbee fought in World War 2 as a pilot, got shot down in Italy, and was a prisoner of war for 48 days.
5Joe Kieyoomia
An American soldier named Joe Kieyoomia was the only prisoner of war to survive both the Bataan death march and an atomic bomb blast. He was also beaten for months by his Japanese captors who believed him to be Japanese-American when he was, in actuality, of Navajo descent.
6Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott (AKA Marcus Brody) was a World War 2 gunner whose plane went down in the North Sea in 1942. He and two other survivors became prisoners of war in Silesia, where he got involved in amateur drama.
7German POWs
In World War 2, German POWs in America were shocked by how African Americans were treated. This was due to the prisoners working alongside them in the fields, allowing them to become closer over their shared labor.
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8Yakov Dzhugashvili
Hitler had captured Stalin's son (Yakov Dzhugashvili) as a prisoner of war and offered to exchange him with a German Marshal prisoner. Stalin responded, "I will not trade a Marshal for a Lieutenant."
9Robert Barany
Robert Barany was a prisoner of war when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Prince of Sweden and Red Cross negotiated with Russia for him to attend the ceremony.
10Kazuo Sakamaki
A Japanese aggressor named Kazuo Sakamaki was captured alive from Pearl Harbor. He was denied his request to commit suicide, and was kept as a Prisoner of War through the remainder of World War 2. He was released back to Japan after their surrender. He then transitioned to a life of pacifism becoming leader of Toyota Motors.
