He spent 3 months in Buchenwald back in 1944 courtesy of the Gestapo. He and most of his crew were captured while trying to escape back to England after their B-17 was shot down over France. They were in civilian clothes and were being transported by the French underground, only that particular cell had been infiltrated. Jim was one of 168 Allied airmen and one of 82 American airmen imprisoned in Buchenwald during WWII.

Unlike the prisoners being held in Gitmo, Jim didn't gain weight. In fact, he was down from 180 to 90 pounds and near death when a Luftwaffe officer got him transferred to Stalag Luft III, saving his life. According to Jim, going from Buchenwald to Stalag Luft III* was "like going from Hell to heaven" by way of comparison.

There are camps and then there are camps. Nothing at Gitmo even remotely compares to the likes of Buchenwald, Changi, or the Hanoi Hilton. To make such a comparison is absurd.

*Stalag Luft III is famous because it was from there that the "Great Escape" took place earlier in 1944. It was a far cry from heaven, but far nearer to it than Buchenwald.