Rite of Passage: A Teenager's Chronicle of Combat and Captivity in Nazi Germany

by Ray Matheny, Johannes Steinhoff (Foreword)

Drawing on a vast array of original source material that has survived for decades and previously classified information, this thrilling narrative history documents a young soldier’s miraculous survival in war-torn Europe during World War II. Soon after joining the U.S. Army Corps, a wiry, baby-faced 17-year-old found himself a seasoned warrior desperately battling head-to-head against the Luftwaffe’s best fighter pilots over Nazi Germany. Having amazingly escaped the fiery wreckage of his B-17, he relied on his ingenuity and determination to get him through two bitter winters in confinement as a POW in the infamous Stalag 17. Along with other American prisoners, he was coerced to flee the rapidly advancing Red Army as the European war came to a close and endure a brutal 18-day march where he witnessed firsthand the horrors of the Mauthausen concentration camp. Weighing an emaciated 110 pounds, he was finally rescued by Patton’s Third Army just days before Germany surrendered.

Genres: Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok. So back in college I went on a Saturday field trip to southern Utah to learn about and see different sites related to Native Americans for my beginning archeology course (yes, it was a weeder course and it duly weeded me out). My grim professor for some reason wasn't guiding the trip and instead I met Professor Ray Matheny. What a captivating, energetic, and generally fantastic human being. Also, remarkably mountain goat-like in his nimble footing scrambling over boulders and up trails, especially given his age. A few months later BYU magazine ran a story about his truly remarkable life and I was astonished to find that this guy, a nice, unassuming humble professor was like, a rock star genius in his field (oh, guess I'll just discover some lost civilization in Central America, for example) and was apparently a POW during WWII. Whoa.

Fast forward many years and I got to wondering what the fellow might be up to today. I chanced upon this autobiographical story of his POW years (thank you interlibrary loan). I definitely would love to learn more about his work in archeology, but that understandably, would be an entire other volume. Anyway, I love this book because I so admire the man. Is it the highest quality writing style? No. And there are some poor editorial misses that my nitpickety mind gets a bit bothered by but this is really an amazing story in so many ways. Really, I promise. It's a different view of WWII than I've come across before and some parts are so unbelievable I would reread them out loud to David just to help me process them.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Matheny is an American hero in the truest sense of the word. His story is compelling both as a flight engineer on a B-17, and as a POW in Stalag 17. If you're into airplanes at all, you'll love the rich detail he provides about the B-17. His experiences on the "death march" are incredible, along with how they were eventually rescued.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlisted in the army when only 17, became a gunner in a B-17, and was shot down. He became a POW in Stalag 17 in Austria for 17 months. He survived!

[Andrew Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing story with an interesting perspective. I didn’t think it was as good as it could have been, though. Great story but an imperfect book. Worth reading though!