In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers
The twenty-seven stories in this book serve as a graphic reminder of the selfless heroism of America's World War II Army Air Forces flyers and how necessary they were to achieve Allied victory. Wolfgang Samuel and the pilots he interviewed reveal the peril these men faced to achieve a daunting task, impossible without their bravery. And their sacrifices were stunning—American bomber crews suffered the highest casualties (KIA, MIA, POW, wounded) of all American armed services in World War II. The stories preserved in this book bear that grave danger out. A member of a heavy bomber crew in the 8th Air Force in the period from mid-1942 to spring 1944 was less likely to survive than a US Marine fighting on Iwo Jima or Okinawa.

The stories in this unique book are about men who went face to face with their adversaries, who saw their buddies die, who crashed planes, and who became prisoners of war. Many later went on to become the backbone of the postwar Air Force, serving in Korea and Vietnam and during the Cold War.

Young Ken Chilstrom led a flight of eight A-36 fighter bombers on a low-level foray in Italy. Only he and two others came home. Bob Hoover thought he could take on the entire German air force, but on his first mission he was shot down, nearly perished, and suffered the remainder of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp. Wolfgang Samuel's new book is all about men like Ken, Bob, and the many friends they lost, who saw World War II through to the end and gave freedom to so many others.
1120790785
In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers
The twenty-seven stories in this book serve as a graphic reminder of the selfless heroism of America's World War II Army Air Forces flyers and how necessary they were to achieve Allied victory. Wolfgang Samuel and the pilots he interviewed reveal the peril these men faced to achieve a daunting task, impossible without their bravery. And their sacrifices were stunning—American bomber crews suffered the highest casualties (KIA, MIA, POW, wounded) of all American armed services in World War II. The stories preserved in this book bear that grave danger out. A member of a heavy bomber crew in the 8th Air Force in the period from mid-1942 to spring 1944 was less likely to survive than a US Marine fighting on Iwo Jima or Okinawa.

The stories in this unique book are about men who went face to face with their adversaries, who saw their buddies die, who crashed planes, and who became prisoners of war. Many later went on to become the backbone of the postwar Air Force, serving in Korea and Vietnam and during the Cold War.

Young Ken Chilstrom led a flight of eight A-36 fighter bombers on a low-level foray in Italy. Only he and two others came home. Bob Hoover thought he could take on the entire German air force, but on his first mission he was shot down, nearly perished, and suffered the remainder of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp. Wolfgang Samuel's new book is all about men like Ken, Bob, and the many friends they lost, who saw World War II through to the end and gave freedom to so many others.
25.0 In Stock
In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers

In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers

In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers

In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers

eBookEPUB Single (EPUB Single)

$25.00 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview

The twenty-seven stories in this book serve as a graphic reminder of the selfless heroism of America's World War II Army Air Forces flyers and how necessary they were to achieve Allied victory. Wolfgang Samuel and the pilots he interviewed reveal the peril these men faced to achieve a daunting task, impossible without their bravery. And their sacrifices were stunning—American bomber crews suffered the highest casualties (KIA, MIA, POW, wounded) of all American armed services in World War II. The stories preserved in this book bear that grave danger out. A member of a heavy bomber crew in the 8th Air Force in the period from mid-1942 to spring 1944 was less likely to survive than a US Marine fighting on Iwo Jima or Okinawa.

The stories in this unique book are about men who went face to face with their adversaries, who saw their buddies die, who crashed planes, and who became prisoners of war. Many later went on to become the backbone of the postwar Air Force, serving in Korea and Vietnam and during the Cold War.

Young Ken Chilstrom led a flight of eight A-36 fighter bombers on a low-level foray in Italy. Only he and two others came home. Bob Hoover thought he could take on the entire German air force, but on his first mission he was shot down, nearly perished, and suffered the remainder of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp. Wolfgang Samuel's new book is all about men like Ken, Bob, and the many friends they lost, who saw World War II through to the end and gave freedom to so many others.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781626745940
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication date: 04/30/2015
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 576
File size: 48 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.), was born in Germany in 1935 and immigrated to the United States in 1951 at age sixteen with an eighth-grade education and no English-language skills. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force, then flew over one hundred strategic reconnaissance missions against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. His first book German Boy: A Refugee's Story garnered favorable reviews from the New York Times and numerous other outlets. He is author of eight books published by University Press of Mississippi.

Table of Contents

Terms and Abbreviations xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Foreword xv

Introduction 3

Mosquito/C-54/B-66/Test Pilot Robert P. Walker 11

RCAF, 8th Air Force

B-17/C-54/C-47 David M. Taylor 25

8th Air Force

B-17 Charles P. Johnson 46

8th Air Force

Pow StalagLuft 1, Barth, Germany

P-38/F-5/B-26 Byron A. Dobbs Jr. 67

5th Air Force

Pow Korea

B-25 Edgar E. McElroy 84

5th Air Force

One of Doolittle's Raiders

B-25/C-54/KC-97 Robert S. Hamill 99

12th Air Force

B-25/Test Pilot Russell B. Witte Jr. 109

Western Desert Air Force

9th/12th Air Force

P-38/F-51 Charles E. Schreffler 122

12th Air Force

A-36/Me 262/Test Pilot Kenneth O. Chilstrom 131

12th Air Force

B-17/B-26/B-47E Robert M. Slane 146

8th Air Force

Pow StalagLuft III, Sagan, Germany

C-54/R8-45C/RB-47E Harold R. Austin 165

In Pilot Training When War Ended

B-29/RB-47H Joseph J. Gyulavics 186

In Navigator Training When War Ended

B-17/RB-47H/A-12 Samuel E. Pizzo 203

15th Air Force

B-24/RB-45C/RB-47H/U-2 Marion C. Mixson 216

15th Air Force

B-24/B-17 Bernard T. Nolan 231

8th Air Force

P-47/Me 262/Fw 190/F-86 Robert J. Anspach 245

1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional)

P-38/F-86 Lloyd M. N. Wenzel 255

9th Air Force

P-47/Fw 190/TA 152/Ju 290 Frederick B. Mcintosh 266

9th Air Force

P-47/Me 262 Roy W. Brown 280

12th Air Force

1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional)

P-38/F-8o/Gloster Meteor Albert S. Tucker 296

8th Air Force

Pow StalagLuft I, Barth, Germany

Spitfire/Fw 190/Test Pilot/Barnstormer Robert A. Hoover 314

15th Air Force

Pow StalagLuft I, Barth, Germany

B-17 Frederick Leiby 336

15th Air Force

Pow StalagLuft III, Sagan, Germany

P-40/P-47 Arthur E. Exon 351

9th Air Force

Pow StalagLuft III Sagan, Germany

P-47/Me 262 Robert C Strobell 361

8th Air Force

B-17 Chasten L. Bowen 373

8th Air Force

Pow Buchenwald Concentration Camp, StalagLuft III, Sagan, Germany

B-25/FgF/Test Pilot Charles E. Myers Jr. 391

5th Air Force

Mosquito/F-5 James F. Setchell 408

12th Air Force

Thoughts about Sacrifice and a Terrible War-The Cost of Victory 423

Notes 439

Interviews and Photographs 447

Bibliography 449

Index 453

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews