38. Surviving a Three Mile Fall
Somebody was watching out for Nicholas Alkemade when he jumped without a parachute into the night sky from a height of more than three miles. He fell into a stand of pine trees, then onto soft snow covering the ground. Trees and snow broke and cushioned his fall. Alkemade discovered that he was alive, that he could move his arms and legs, that nothing was broken, and that the only injury he suffered was a sprained leg.
He was captured and interrogated by the Gestapo, who disbelieved his claims until they found and investigated his bomber’s wreckage. Alkemade spent the rest of the war in a POW camp, where his survival story made him a celebrity. After the war, he made a living in the chemical industry, and was featured on Just Amazing, a British TV series about people who pulled off extraordinary feats of daring or survived against incredible odds.
