Michael Buckley Jr. | |
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![]() At West Point in 1923 | |
Born | Bisbee, Arizona Territory | May 17, 1902
Died | August 17, 2006 Oakland, California | (aged 104)
Education | United States Military Academy |
Occupation(s) | Military officer, teacher |
Known for | First American prisoner of war during World War II |
Colonel Michael Joseph Buckley Jr. (May 17, 1902 – August 17, 2006) was the first American prisoner of war during World War II when, as a major in the United States Army, he was captured near Tobruk on November 23, 1941 by German military forces under the command of Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel, also known as "The Desert Fox." This was two weeks prior to the United States entering the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.