Delmar T . Spivey Major General Delmar Taft Spivey , USAF ( 9 August 1905 - 18 January 1982 ) , service number O 017278 , was an American military officer involved with aerial gunnery systems development , air education , and command structure . During World War II , he was the highest - ranking American officer shot down and captured in the European Theatre of Operations . Early life and education . Delmar Taft Spivey was born in Gatesville , North Carolina , on 9 August 1905 . After graduating from high school at Whaleyville , Virginia , in 1922 , he attended William and Mary College , Williamsburg , Virginia . Graduating from the U . S . Military Academy on 9 June 1928 , he was appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry and assigned as a platoon leader at Fort Benning , Georgia . Entering flying school in June 1929 , he graduated a year later , transferred to the Air Corps and was assigned to Langley Field , Virginia . On 20 February 1930 , Lt . Spivey , of the 52d School Squadron , experienced a forced landing when the motor of Atlantic DH - 4M - 2 , " 23 - 685 " , failed , the airframe suffering moderate damage when it came down 2 miles S of Brooks Field , San Antonio , Texas . Military career . Assigned in June 1933 to the 65th Service Squadron at Luke Field , Hawaii , two years later Spivey became engineering officer of the 64th School Squadron at Kelly Field , Texas , and in January 1936 was named assistant engineering officer there . In April 1936 he became an instructor at the flying school at Kelly Field , and a year later was appointed chief of the bomb section there . On 14 April 1938 , he experienced a ground collision in a landing accident at Kelly Field , in which North American BT - 9B , " 37 - 166 " , of the 64th School Squadron , received moderate damage . Becoming materiel officer of the 23d Composite Group in July 1938 , with which he served at Maxwell Field , Alabama , and Orlando , Florida , two years later the general assumed command of a squadron at the Air Corps Proving Ground , Eglin Field , Florida , and in January 1941 was appointed executive officer of the Air Corps Proving Ground . In December 1939 , Captains Spivey and George W . Mundy , both of the 23d Composite Group , had flown two Curtiss YP - 37 s to Eglin Field for engine testing , the first of thousands of service tests . Two months prior , Spivey had suffered a landing accident on 10 October at Maxwell Field , Alabama , in which Curtiss P - 36C Hawk , " 38 - 187 " , c / n 12601 , of the 1st Pursuit Squadron ( Single Engine ) , 23d Composite Group , received minor damage . When Brigadier General Muir S . Fairchild , executive officer of the Army Air Forces , arrived at Eglin Field by plane from New Orleans for a brief inspection tour of the growing post in mid - November 1941 , he was hosted by Major Spivey , who was in command of the field during the temporary absence of Major George W . Mundy . World War II . In April 1942 , Lt . Col . Spivey assumed command of the Fixed Gunnery School at Eglin Field , and in February 1942 was named commander of the Central Instructors School and Flexible Gunnery School at Buckingham Field , Fort Myers , Florida . He arrived there from Maxwell Field on 9 May , and four days later was notified of his promotion to full colonel . " While construction workers built the new air field , Col . Spivey assembled a team of instructors drawn from the aerial gunnery school cadre at Tyndall Field located near Panama City , Florida . Tyndall Field instructors trained the first aerial gunnery students before America ’ s entry into the war . Spivey based the initial curricula and training exercises on the previous experience gleaned from the pre - war period . In addition , the extensive literature and field guides from the British Royal Air Force ’ s aerial gunnery school influenced Spivey . " " The content and comparison of the curricula of flexible gunnery schools are necessary to an understanding of the discussion of specific training problems . Planning of curricula and preparation of textbooks was the work , in large part , of Maj . W . L . Kennedy and Col . Delmar T . Spivey . The former , after a study of the English flexible gunnery schools in the summer of 1941 , prepared the first five week ' s course at Harlingen and aided in the preparation of textbooks to be used there . Colonel Spivey , project officer at Buckingham Army Air Field , performed a similar service for that station . In the early stages of their existence , flexible gunnery schools used as guide books Training Manual 1 - 271 and a Navy Department booklet , ' Air Gunnery . ' After examining all available publications on gunnery in his planning for the school and comparing the results of his investigation with the subject matter of the two books , Colonel Spivey suggested to LAI ? [ sic ] Headquarters the preparation of another text embracing some principles from each of the former ones . " " Throughout his tenure , Spivey demanded that all officers and enlisted men ' live and think only of gunnery . ' Often Spivey was seen on the firing ranges and visiting students in classrooms to provide inspiration and leadership . " Col . Spivey remained in command of Buckingham Field until 23 March 1943 , when he was designated the A - 3 operations officer of the Southeast Training Command at Maxwell Field , remaining there until June 1943 . Assigned with the Eighth Air Force in Europe , on 12 August 1943 , while serving as an observer on a Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress of the 92d Bomb Group , piloted by Eugene M . Wiley , on a mission to hit the rail marshalling yards at Gelsenkirchen , Germany , in the industrial Ruhr region , Colonel Spivey was shot down . As the USAAF expert on aerial gunnery , he was on this mission to evaluate how to improve gun turrets . Hit by flak , which knocked out the number one engine , and fighters , which set number three afire , the bomber , B - 17F - 85 - BO , " 42 - 30081 " , ' P - YO ' , named " USS Aliquippa " , of the 407th Bomb Squadron , 92d Bomb Group , crash - landed near the Dutch border at Ahaus , NW of Münster . All eleven crew captured . ( MACR 655 ) One source credits Lt . Fritz Karch in a Bf 109G - 6 of JG 2 / 6 with the kill . With his capture , Col . Spivey became the highest - ranking American prisoner of war , and was incarcerated at Stalag Luft III . POW . " When Colonel Delmar T . Spivey entered [ the camp ] in late July , [ sic ] 1943 , he was a full colonel and twice the age of most of his fellow inmates . The senior staff immediately realized that his seniority and West Point training would catapult him into prominence as a leader . To reduce the chances of his inadvertently giving away important secrets to the Germans , the staff quickly briefed him on the entire spectrum of camp activities , including the vital covert intelligence and escape work that had been painfully developed during the three years since the first Allied fliers were captured by the Germans . " This included the three escape tunnels well underway , Tom , Dick and Harry . During succeeding days he learned all about the prisoners ' forgery operation , covert communications with London and Washington , impressive education and theatrical programs , and robust play on the athletic field . " Two weeks later Spivey assumed command as Senior American Officer ( SAO ) of Center Compound . Still dazzled by what he had seen , he reflected on the need to record for posterity the amazing activities he saw at every turn . If nothing else , he reasoned , the account might make it easier for the next generation of prisoners and save them the trouble of having to ' invent the wheel all over again . ' As logical and intriguing as the idea sounded , Spivey knew there were great risks . The Germans obviously would love to get their hands on so revealing a document . He nonetheless decided to proceed with the effort , knowing that everything hinged on the careful observance of numerous precautions and safeguards . " This coded and carefully hidden history was retrieved and carried at no little risk when the camp was hastily evacuated in late January , 1945 , as the Germans marched the prisoners away from the rapidly advancing Russian armies . The documents served as the basis and initial impetus for " Stalag Luft III - The Secret Story " , a definitive history of the camp , by Col . Arthur A . Durand , USAF ( Ret . ) . Upon return to allied control in April 1945 , Col . Spivey was assigned to the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe . Post - war . In August 1945 Colonel Spivey became assistant chief of Air Staff for Personnel of the Air Training Command at Fort Worth , Texas . The following month he was named assistant to the chief of staff of the Air Training Command , and in October 1945 was appointed deputy chief of staff of the command , retaining that position when the command headquarters moved to Barksdale Field , Louisiana , in April 1946 . Entering the National War College in August 1946 , upon graduation the following June the general became chief of the Academic Staff of the Air University at Maxwell Field , Alabama . In July 1948 he was appointed commander for education at the Air University , and a year later became director of education there . General Spivey in August 1949 was appointed chief of the Plans Division , Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at U . S . Air Force headquarters . A year later he was assigned to Fifth Air Force headquarters at Nagoya , Japan , and soon afterward assumed command of the Rear Echelon of the Fifth Air Force ( 6 August 1950 - 1 December 1950 ) . In December 1950 he was named commanding general of the 314th Air Division in Japan . Upon the inactivation of the 314th Air Division in February 1952 , General Spivey was designated commander of the Japan Air Defense Force ( 1 December 1950 - 20 January 1953 ) . Final assignments . Returning to the United States in February 1953 , the general was appointed commanding general of the Central Air Defense Force , Air Defense Command , at Kansas City , Missouri . Moving to Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , in July 1954 , he was designated commandant of the Air War College , Air University ( 26 July 1954 – 15 June 1956 ) until 16 June 1956 , when he became a patient at the Air University Hospital . Post - service career . Following his military retirement , General Spivey , 56 , served as Superintendent of Culver Military Academy , Culver , Indiana , from September 1956 to 1967 . In 1965 , he smoothly integrated Culver . " Then - superintendent Gen . Delmar T . Spivey , according to an article in the summer , 1987 Culver Alumni magazine on the school ' s black student history , had said prior to the 1965 school year , ' Our policy has always been that when a qualified black student applies , he will be admitted , ' and without fanfare , added the superintendent - - which was just what happened . " An article in the September 1966 issue of " Boys ' Life " magazine states that " In ten years as superintendent , General Spivey has , with what an associate calls ' dynamic ease , ' raised Culver to the top rank of prep schools in the U . S . He ' s brought in over eight million dollars with his ' Program of Excellence , ' by getting Culver alumni in clubs across the country to speak up and give to their school . He ' s raised faculty salaries and created scores of new scholarships , including Boy Scout scholarships . ' At Culver , ' he tells you , ' a boy learns the responsibility of command . He also learns that here , as in life , the best man - whether an artist , a scholar , or athlete - will win out . ' The general has said he sometimes thinks that running Culver ' is tougher than fighting a war . ' Yet , despite his heavy involvement , he gives much time to scouting as a member of the executive board of the Tri - Valley Council , in South Bend , Ind . For his outstanding work , General Spivey last year received the Silver Antelope - one of Scoutings [ sic ] highest awards for service to youth . " Upon departing Culver , General Spivey and his wife retired to Largo , Florida , with a vacation house in Maine . General Spivey died in 1982 . Memorial services were held on 22 January 1982 at the Episcopal Church of Ascension in Clearwater , Florida . Ginny Spivey , wife of General Spivey , was hostess to students and VIPs of the Academy . She died on 22 October 1997 . Publications . In April 1959 , Superintendent Spivey published a volume titled " Culver Military Academy : A Dedicated Institution " , which went through two printings . ( Indianapolis , Indiana : Newcomen Society , April 1959 . ) He also authored a book on his experiences as the senior American POW officer in Stalag Luft III ( Center Compound ) . Titled : " POW Odyssey : Recollections of Center Compound , Stalag Luft III and the Secret German Peace Mission in World War II " , it was published in 1984 . The Delmar T . Spivey , collection , 1943 - 1978 , running five linear feet , and used in the production of this manuscript , is archived at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs , Colorado . Family . Delmar Spivey was married to Virginia B . Spivey , ( a New Jersey native , born 4 April 1907 , died 22 October 1997 , in Largo , Pinellas County , Florida ) , and the 1940 census lists a son , Delmar B . Spivey , age 8 . Delmar B . Spivey would also join the U . S . Air Force in 1955 , graduating in navigator class 58 - 03 at James Connally Air Force Base , Texas , and later served as a navigator with a special operations squadron , the 309th Air Commando Squadron , flying UC - 123 Providers , on Operation Ranch Hand missions in Vietnam in 1966 . He later crewed Lockheed C - 141 Starlifter s . He retired from the Air Force on Wednesday 31 August 1977 , with the rank of lieutenant colonel , his final assignment being with the Operations Plans Division of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing , Dyess AFB , Texas . He is rated a master navigator , with 5 , 286 hours flying time . He died 4 May 2006 . Commemoration . In 1967 , two distinguished physicians and graduates of Culver Military Academy , Dr . Richard U . Light , Class of 1920 , and his brother Rudolph Light , Class of 1927 , established the Major General Delmar T . Spivey Award for Excellence in Teaching to recognize and encourage superior teaching , particularly among younger , promising members of the faculty . Because of General Spivey ’ s many contributions to the encouragement of excellence in teaching at the Academy , the award was named in honor of Culver ’ s sixth Superintendent . Decorations . His decorations include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster , Bronze Star Medal , Air Medal and the Order of the British Empire ( Honorary Commander ) . He is rated a command pilot .