On 19 December 1944 during the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge, a group of almost 8000 American soldiers surrendered and were made prisoners-of-war near Saint Vith, Belgium.  Michael Palaia was one of them, and was sent to a POW camp near Dresden in Germany.  The POWs were forced to work, and lived in conditions that approached starvation.  While cleaning rubble one day, Palaia found a jar of fruit and hid it in his jacket.  The Nazis searhed Palaia, found the jar, and executived him.  Four prisoners witnessed the execution, but his body was never recoevered.  

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This information was provided by the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery