General Yeager Interned in Spain 1944 (from an interview)

General Yeager: After being shot down on my 9th mission during World War II, evading Germans, helping the French underground. who protected me, blow up bridges, carrying a wounded man over the Pyrenees, I spent Easter in 1944 interned in Spain.

Interviewer: Taking a wounded man across the Pyrenees rather complicated matters a bit, though.

General Yeager:

Well, that’s just the way of life; that’s the way it goes. That worked out good. (The wounded airman survived and lived until about 1975.)

Being interned down there in Spain was really a piece of cake. They put you up in the best hotel, gave you money and cigarettes. I didn’t smoke so I sold the cigarettes on the black market for a tremendous amount of money. It was a soft life.

Spain was a neutral country and it complied with the international regulations.

The American consul came up to Sort, where we had gotten to, took us to Lerida, put us up in a hotel, gave us money, and came to see us every week. Then he took us to Alhama de Aragon, a spa built around a hot springs. We had the life of Reilly there; it was really neat.

I thought if my kids ever found out how I spent the war: at a hot springs pool with girls in bikinis….

c. GCYI