Curragh Camp: American POW in an Irish Prison
July 22, 2011
Posted in Curragh Camp, Ireland, World War II
Tags: Curragh Camp, Ireland, World War II
Bud Wolfe, Courtesy BBC
On Friday’s, we typically do a Weekly History Wrap-Up. But lets change it up. Instead, in line with the Irish theme of the week, take a look at the unusual story of American pilot, Bud Wolfe. Remember from Wednesday, infantryman Tom Franks had mentioned that if members of his unit crossed south over the border from their camp in Northern Ireland to neutral Ireland, they would have spent the remainder of the war in an Irish prison. He wasn’t joking! It actually happened!
When American-born, RAF pilot, Bud Wolfe, had to abandon his Spitfire due to engine failure just miles south of the border in neutral Ireland, he probably didn’t think much of it. However, he would spend the next two years housed next door to his German counterparts in one of the true oddities of the war–a honor-system Irish prison called, Curragh Camp.