British writer and commando Micky Burn dies at 97

[September 13, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- Micky Burn, a British journalist and writer who was decorated for his role in a daring World War II commando raid, has died at the age of 97.

Burn's friend James Dorrian said Monday that he died Sept. 3 at his home in north Wales after suffering a stroke.

Burn's eventful life included a meeting with Adolf Hitler in Germany in 1935. He later renounced his dalliance with fascism and joined the British army to fight the Nazis.

He was captured during a raid on the French port of St. Nazaire in March 1942 and imprisoned in Colditz Castle. He was later awarded the Military Cross for his bravery.

After the war, Burn reported for The Times newspaper from Eastern Europe and wrote novels, nonfiction books, poetry and an autobiography, "Turned Toward the Sun."

[Associated Press]

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