Hero of Two Nations
by admin on Jul.01, 2009, under Historical Heroes, Tribute
Joseph “Jumpin’ Joe” Beyrle was an amazing man, to say the least. His exploits in the Second World War bordered on unbelievable. He was also the only WWII soldier to fight for both the Soviets and Americans. Beyrle was captured by the Germans on D-Day and declared dead in the attack due to a body being discovered wearing his dog tags. While his family back home in Muskegon, MI mourned his death, Beyrle was being passed through seven Nazi prison camps and along the way tortured and interrogated. After four months he was finally able to get a postcard out to his family declaring himself a POW and that he was “fine”. I suppose after all those months of torture, being “fine” could only constitute being alive.
Quote from Beyrle regarding his time in the prison camps:
“I told him that he was an S.O.B., and I woke up in a German hospital with the German nurses working on me,” Beyrle recounted in an interview in May. “And I knew I wasn’t dead, because angels don’t speak German.”
After two previous attempts, third time was a charm for Beyrle and he escaped the POW camp. Alone in hostile territory, Beyrle realized that his best hope was to find Soviet troops.
“I knew two words of Russian, ‘Americanski tovarish’” — American comrade. With his hands in the air, Beyrle called out to the Soviet troops. He won their trust by using his demolition skills to blow up trees hindering the advance of the Soviet tank brigade.
Beyrle fought with the Soviets for approximately three weeks before being injured and sent to a hospital in Moscow. There he contacted the U.S. Embassy, but there was debate over whether is was actually him. Records still showed Joseph Beyrle as “deceased”. However, his identity was confirmed and Beyrle was sent home.
Joseph Beyrle passed away in 2004 at the age of 81. NBC posted this article showcasing this amazing man.
