Remembering a hero

This community is proud of its veterans who have served the United States of America, protecting the nation without fanfare or accolades, then returning, as hard as it may be, to “a normal life.”
We have told their stories — from World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, the war in Afghanistan and other conflicts that have arisen.
We have recounted stories of high school teenagers, young men, who joined the military before they graduated, because they wanted to serve.
Extraordinary stories, each and every one.
But we ran across a story of a hero, a Greybull High School graduate who went unnoticed, unheralded, until we happened to find an article in the Feb. 10, 1944, issue with the headline: “Leo Boelens makes escape from Jap Prison Camp,” and the subhead, “Greybull High School graduate is one of 10 men to elude Nips in miraculous venture.”