Lt. Michael Mauritz survived a sea crash, escaped from a Nazi prison camp, and was welcomed back to Italy as a hero when his plane "Skipper" resurfaced in 1998. Mauritz was listed as missing in 1944 after he skillfully crash-landed his plane in the Mediterranean Sea following the initial Allied assault on Anzio. He swam to shore, only to be captured by Germans. But nine days later, Maurtiz staged a cunning escape, fleeing across the snowy Apennines on a five-month odyssey.