It was the fall of 1943 and Major Anthony Nelson skillfully piloted the De Havilland Mosquito through the night time German sky. His co-pilot was his longtime colleague and friend, Major Roger Healey. While the plane was configured for a two man crew, there was a third passenger—a certain blonde named Jeannie. While the Mossie was primarily a British plane, the American Army Air Force was utilizing a few as reconnaissance birds. And the "I Dream of Jeannie," named for the Stephen Foster tune, was one of them.

Nelson manipulated the fuel mixture. On cue, Healey got on the radio.

Roger called out, "Jeannie 13 to any allied forces, we've lost an engine and the other is sputtering! Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!"

An excited voice replied, "Jeannie 13, you are on an open frequency! Encrypt your signal!"

As expected a German Messerschmitt fighter was soon behind the Mosquito. The German shot a few rounds over the American plane. This frightened and angered Jeannie. At the blink of an eye or two, the German fighter's wings snapped off. Tony and Roger watched as the enemy pilot bailed out.

Nelson shouted, "Jeannie, why did you do that?!"

Jeannie replied, "Master! He was trying to shoot us down!"

Tony explained, "He was just trying to get our attention and assert dominance. If he were trying to shoot us down, his bullets wouldn't have gone over our head."

Roger predicted, "I bet we just attracted a lot of attention ourselves."

Soon, anti-aircraft guns below the Mossie started firing. Jeannie blinked again, and 50 caliber rounds were soon bouncing off the sides of the wooden aircraft. Nelson sighed, rolled his eyes, and commenced performing a fake emergency landing. The astronaut skillfully put the plane down in a nearby field. The downed reconnaissance bird was soon surrounded by German soldiers.

Tony instructed the others, "While the original plan was to get forced down by a German fighter and be captured at an airfield," Nelson paused and looked at Jeannie, "we can still work with this. Roger and I will be captured by these troops to be taken to our destination. Jeannie, you will stay hidden. Is that clear?"

Roger acknowledged, "Copy that."

Jeannie reluctantly agreed, "Yes, Master."

Jeannie hid inside Tony's flight jacket pocket. The two astronauts, dressed as WWII U.S. Army Air Corps Officers exited the aircraft with their hands up. Soon the two Americans were bound and thrown in the back of a truck. A couple of young German soldiers kept them company, so Jeannie had to be careful not to be discovered. The truck traveled quickly down a rough dirt road through the woods. When the vehicle stopped, Nelson could read a sign that read: Halt! Anfahrt Tor von Luftstalag 13! Oberst Wilhelm Klink, Kommandant.

A rather portly sergeant of the guard soon appeared at the rear of the truck. Looking at the non-com's age and decorations, Nelson speculated that he was a World War I vet re-activated to serve as a prison camp guard.

The sergeant commanded in fairly good English, "Raus! Raus! Out of the truck!." The sergeant continued after the two Americans complied, "Welcome to Stalag 13, I am Sergeant Schultz! Kommandant Klink would like to see you in the morning, until then you will be spending the rest of the night in the cooler for disturbing my sleep. After Colonel Klink is finished interrogating you, you will report to the senior American officer, Colonel Robert Hogan."

A night in the stockade followed by a personal interrogation by a senior German officer was not exactly what Tony envisioned. Roger looked a little ill. At least the part of the plan involving arriving at Stalag 13 and meeting Hogan appeared to be on track. The other part of the plan involved an encounter with a young Captain Alfred E. Bellows.