Great Escape veteran dies at 97

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[papajoad]

LONDON – A survivor of the Great Escape plot by Allied prisoners in a German prison in World War II has died.

His family said Jack Harrison died Friday at age 97 at Erskine veterans' home in Bishopton, Scotland.

Harrison was a Royal Air Force pilot who was shot down and captured on his first mission in 1942.

He was part of the plot to escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944, retold in the film "The Great Escape." However, he was not among the 76 who broke out. Harrison was 98th on the list to go, but guards detected the 77th escape.

Of the 76 who escaped, only three got to safety. Fifty were executed on Adolf Hitler's orders, and 23 others were returned to custody.