Stalag Luft III - Donald Duck Wants Wings

Stalag Luft III (Stammlager Luft, or Permanent Camp for Airmen #3) was a German Air Force prisoner of war camp during WW II that housed captured air force personnel. It was near Sagan, now Zagen in Poland. 100 miles (160km) Southeast of Berlin. The features of the camp made it difficult to escape from. The barracks were elevated off the ground. They were constructed on very sandy subsoil that was bright yellow to easily detect digging. The structural integrity of the loose soil in the tunnels was poor and there were the placement of seismograph microphones around the perimeter of the camp. Yet this was the scene of what was to become known as "The Great Escape". The 1963 film starring Steve McQueen glamourized it with his motorcycle ride that never happened but it did include many facts.
It is in this camp that 1st Lt Emmet Cook, Bombardier of the B-17 named "Junior" eventually was transferred after being shot down on a raid over the harbor at Palermo, Italy. Emmet joined the escape committee mapping the camp and locating blind spots for gardens to dispose of sand removed from the tunnels. He liked to draw and paint and one day created a flustered Donald Duck behind prison bars saying "I Wanted Wings". The image was put on a postcard to his mother, a patch for his jacket and also placed in his YMCA supplied diary. That postcard was spotted by Capt. Robert Bishop who sent the image home to his girlfriend, Kate Brown asking her to forward it to Walt Disney for permission to have some made to wear on jackets. Walt Disney responded saying he was having the insignia drawn up by his artists and would have four dozen made up in cloth to send. This was the first request from a prison camp and Walt thought it was a good human interest story so the publicity department gave the story to Popular Science and it was used in the May 1944 issue. Unfortunately Mr. Disney was away to Mexico for several weeks and the only place in town turning out the cloth insignias for uniforms had to many government contracts to have them made. Instead the finished artwork and a small photographic copy were sent to Miss Brown.
It took sixty days in between Red Cross packages to be sent to the camp and then it had to have an official label issued only to the next of kin. Deciding to hang on to the original for safety reasons a copy eventually found its way to Capt. Bishop.
"The Great Escape" was actually a disaster. Only 76 POW'S got out, with 73 being recaptured. Hitler ordered all these shot but intervention by some German officers kept the murdered count to 50. The maximum punishment for escaping according to the Geneva Convention was to have been 28 days in solitary confinement. The Senior British Officer at the camp was informed that the escaping officers had been shot whilst trying to escape. He replied "How many were wounded ?" The answer came "None, and I am not permitted to give you any further information, except the bodies and personal effects will be returned to you".
Emmet and the insignia became very popular with him drawing Donald's image in many men's YMCA log diaries, on their postcards or letters, while some POW'S drew theirs.
In many of the drawings Donald has a dog tag with the POW'S tag number added. In addition at least two war birds had the design on their fuselage. A B-24 and a P-47D Thunderbolt.---The original painting had been done by the Disney Studio in October of 1943. In addition I have a photograph of Walt Disney holding the art before it was sent. ---
Background story of insigne obtained from multiple resources after being informed as to the location of the arts owner and eventual seller by fellow researcher and friend David Lesjak.