Michael Buckley Jr.

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.

Early life and education Buckley Jr. was born in Bisbee, then in Arizona Territory, on May 17, 1902, to Michael and Barbara Lally Buckley. He grew up in Coalinga, California where he attended Coalinga High School, graduating in 1919.

Early military career In 1919, Buckley Jr. attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating with the class of 1923 and receiving his commission in the Field Artillery Branch of the United States Army.

Prisoner of war In the fall of 1941, and while holding the rank of major, Buckley Jr. was sent to Egypt as an observer of the British forces fighting against the combined Italian and German armies under the command of Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel.

On November 23, 1941, Buckley Jr. was with the 5th South African Brigade who were advancing on Tobruk when Rommel's panzer forces overran their position and he was captured.

As an unarmed non-combatant, Buckley Jr. should have been released, but after Pearl Harbor (that occurred two weeks after his capture) he was interned in Italy until freed by a prisoner exchange in May 1942, thus making him the first American soldier to be held as a prisoner of war during World War II.

At the time of his death, Buckley Jr. was the oldest living graduate of West Point.