When asked why he wanted to join the British army at 18, Austrian Peter Masters (born Peter Arany) told the recruiter, "I think part of this war belongs to me, sir."
After signing up for hazardous duty, Masters was asked to join the top-secret X Troop, composed of men from different nationalities. Many of the soldiers in X Troop were Jewish refugees, who spoke fluent German and were given new last names and identities should they ever be captured.
Like all members of X Troop, Masters was trained to use guns, knives, and bayonets—or kill with his bare hands.
Sixty-seven-year-old Peter Masters (center) with Harry Nomburg, left, whose commando name was Harry Drew, and Peter Terry (originally Peter Tischler), at the grave of a fellow soldier in Normandy in 1989.
Peter Masters in Normandy for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in 1994.
