Braden

Braden is a fictional character who appeared in the Hogan's Heroes episode, Reservations Are Required. He was played by Robert Hogan.

Braden is the leader of the twenty prisoners who had just escaped from Stalag 9 before the start of the episode. His first appearance is when he appears before LeBeau, who is inside the woods near Stalag 13, searching for mushrooms for the meals of his fellow prisoners, asking him a question in German. As he gets LeBeau's attention, who tells him that his is the worst German that he has ever heard, he watches Mills grab LeBeau from behind. Once Mills has gotten a still struggling LeBeau under his control, the pair start asking him questions. The pair do not appear to believe LeBeau when he gives them his name and rank, as he hears Mills ask him who has won the 1940 World Series. He and Mills hear LeBeau protest them asking him that question since being a Frenchman he wouldn't know the answer, but he would be able to tell them who had appeared at a certain spot in Paris if they ask him that question instead. But they begin to believe him after he mentions that the reason he is out there is to collect mushrooms for the friday meals of his fellow prisoners at Stalag 13. He watches Mills release him before all three men duck down to get better cover. He and Mills then introduce themselves to LeBeau before telling him that they have just escaped from Stalag 9 and are looking for Stalag 13, to get Colonel Hogan's help in getting them out of Germany. He is then surprised to hear LeBeau announce that they should have informed their escape officer so that he could have set up a reservation with them for their arrival since they are presentlty booked solid until New York's Eve, before he informs an equally shocked LeBeau that their tunnel has just been created that night. Braden then starts to insist that he and Mills really needed to see Hogan so that they can get out of Germany. After a while, they are finally able to convince LeBeau to take them to see Hogan. As they start to get up, he and Mills both start to perform a short whistle. This soon results in the sudden appearance from various parts of the forest of eighten other prisoners, announcing that it has been some sort of prearranged signal, much to LeBeau's surprise. After looking at the other eighteen escapees, he looks back at Braden and asks him if they have dug their tunnel through Times Square.

He is next seen sitting at a table inside Barracks 2, after the last of the twenty escapees has been processed by Kinchloe. After he hears Kinchloe pass that information on to Hogan, he watches Hogan walk over to the twenty escapees and hears him welcome them all to Stalag 13, before he hears him inform them that because they have not expected them, that things would be rough for a while, before he hears Hogan answers Mills' question about whether they were too many for him and his men to handle by telling them that he and his men should be able to handle it. He then hears Hogan start telling his men what he wanted them to do: He tells Newkirk to get them some fake German civilian clothings, which he then hears Newkirk acknowledge that he would. He then hears Hogan tell Carter to create some forged papers for the group. He next hears Carter tell them that he wanted to see the first group of ten inside tunnel four early in the afternoon so that he could take their picture for their fake German I.D. card. He then hears Hogan tell the twenty that they would be sent out through Barracks 3 when they are finally ready to send them out. As he looks a bit grim during the entire preceeding, he hears Hogan tell Kinch to contact London and tell them to get a very big sub ready to pick the twenty up. As he sees Kinch about ready to leave to contact London, he finally speaks up, quickly informing Hogan that he didn't think that he could wait too much longer. He hears Hogan tell him that he will have to, unless he has another travel agent. He then watch Hogan leave, while his men start to organize the fake clothes and ids that the escapees would need to continue their journey back to England. But, Braden soon develops some ideas of his own.

The next night (or maybe two nights later, it isn't made clear in the episode), Braden would wake up a sleepy Mills. Once Mills is awake, he tells him that he has been informed by one of the prisoners that there is a road construction site nearby, and that the site would everyday send out a tanker to the Stalag to pick up water. He suggests to Mills that, while the camp's guards keep an eye on the tanker's driver, that they go to the tanker's blind side, climb onto the roof, slip into the tanker via the open hatch, go under the water when the driver comes by to close the hatch, and then reemerge and stay hiddden inside the tanker as it is driven out of the camp and escape. He hears Mills quickly tell him that he doesn't think it is a good idea, since Hogan has already started to plan their escape. Braden tells Mills that it might take some time since Hogan has to outfit twenty men. He then hears Mills point out that if they get caught inside the tanker, that it would ruin things for everyone. But an impatient Braden then reminds him that he is the one who has already been able to get them out of Stalag 9 and to 13. This finally convinces a still reluctant Mills. Upon hearing Mills' answer, a happier sounding Braden allow the two of them to go back to sleep.

The following day, Braden and Mills exits Barracks 2, and quietly walk over to the truck's blind side under the noses of the guards. Although they are not seen by any of the German guards, they are soon seen by Kinchloe, who is standing in front of one of the other barracks, who then informs Hogan and the others of their presense, just as the pair starts to climb onto the tanker. The pair are soon standing atop the tanker's roof, before they start to enter the tanker through its opened hatch, with Braden going inside first. After the hatch is closed over them, the pair don't know that Hogan has gone over to Schultz, and soon convinces him that someone has just snuck into the tanker, planning to use it as a means of escape, so that Braden and Mill would both be surprised to hear someone banging on the roof, ordering them to come out. They soon do, reopening the hatch, and then being told by an armed guard to get out of the truck, which they do, with Mills going out first. Once back on the ground, the now wet pair are soon being chastied by Schultz, just as the other prisoners begin to crowd around them and another guard. Using it as a cover, Braden and Mills quickly duck down and crawled under the tanker, and then start to run back towards Barrack 2, where they are meet at the door by Hogan who tells them to get inside. As he and Mills does as ordered, the pair hear Hogan call over a couple of his men. Braden then sees an angry Hogan enters the barrack. Braden starts to apology for their move, but is quickly stopped by Hogan who tells them to go into his office, as he intends to deal with them later. Braden and Mills does as ordered, so that they do not see Hogan sacrifice two of his men to keep them from being captured. They also do not hear Hogan tell his men that they are going to send out the twenty prisoners that very night, since he believes that Klink will now be relaxed since they have made a prison escape attempt. He also doesn't hear LeBeau's request asking to punch both him and Mills in the face, to the surprise of the others.

Braden would next appear when the twenty escapees from Stalag 9, now wearing fake civilian clothes, are being sent into the tunnel, escorted by LeBeau, through the redesigned entrance inside Barracks 3. As he is waiting behind another escapee to enter the tunnel, he sees one of the other escapees reappear, informing Hogan and the others that the tunnel exit is being watched by one of the camp's guards. After that information has been relayed to Hogan and the others in the room, he hears Hogan tell Kinchloe that they are going to continue with their plans, since he didn't think that Klink would be any more relaxed than he is now. He then watch Hogan tell Newkirk and Carter to go into the tunnel and then to exit the other end to give themselves up, thereby acting as a distraction so that it would make Klink and his men look for the tunnel's entrance, thus giving them time to get the escapees out through the other end. After the two non-coms go down the ladder protesting, he hears Hogan tell him to get the rest of his men down the tunnel and to listen for a signal, two loud stumps, with the second one to occur several seconds after the first. After hearing that, he is to send his men out into the woods. He tells Hogan that he understands his idea, which brings out a sarcastic comment from Hogan about recommending him for Officer Candidate School, before he has Braden sent down the ladder, along with a suitcase. Braden is next seen hearing the two stomps signal, having no idea that the stomps have been caused by Klink, as he is trying to put on his right boot inside Barracks 3, who in turn has no idea that he is being distracted from persuing Braden and his men as they escape. Braden starts to send out his men, who are soon seen running away from Stalag 13.

It is to be assume that Braden has been picked up by the sub, as Newkirk mentions near the end of the episode that all twenty escapees has been picked up by the sub.