My dad was a fighter pilot in WWII and the Korean war. He flew the P38 lightning as well as the P51 and others. He was shot down over the Mediterranean in WWII and picked up by the Italians before the Germans came in and occupied Italy. His prison camp released the prisoners when the Germans came in and they had to make their way south across Italy back to friendly lines. They hid in forests, stole potatoes from farmers to survive, he didn't have any boots until he got some off a dead German. It sadly affected his health and he had a massive heart attack at age 35 when I was a toddler, then passed at age 56. Those wars were rough for a lot of families. My brother has his diary from that time, and I have the map he drew of his escape route through Italy.