Unsung Eagles: True Stories of America's Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II

by Jay A. Stout

Overview

WINNER OF 2014 SAN DIEGO BOOK AWARD FOR BEST PUBLISHED HISTORY, MILITARY AND POLITICS

The nearly half-million American aircrewmen who served during World War II have almost disappeared. And so have their stories.

Award-winning writer and former fighter pilot Jay A. Stout uses Unsung Eagles to save an exciting collection of those accounts from oblivion. These are not rehashed tales from the hoary icons of the war. Rather, they are stories from the masses of largely unrecognized men who—in the aggregate—actually won it. They are the recollections of your Uncle Frank who shared them only after having enjoyed a beer or nine, and of your old girlfriend’s grandfather who passed away about the same time she dumped you. And of the craggy guy who ran the town’s salvage yard; a dusty, fly-specked B-24 model hung over the counter. These are “everyman” accounts that are important but fast disappearing.

Ray Crandall describes how he was nearly knocked into the Pacific by a heavy cruiser’s main battery during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea. Jesse Barker—a displaced dive-bomber pilot—tells of dodging naval bombardments in the stinking mud of Guadalcanal. Bob Popeney relates how his friend and fellow A-20 pilot was blown out of formation by German antiaircraft fire: “I could see the inside of the airplane—and I could see Nordstrom's eyes. He looked confused…and then immediately he flipped up and went tumbling down.”

The combat careers of 22 different pilots from all the services are captured in this crisply written book which captivates the reader not only as an engaging oral history, but also puts personal context into the great air battles of World War II.

Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Jay Stout is a former Marine Corps fighter pilot who flew F-4 Phantoms and F/A-18 Hornets during a military career from 1981 to 2001. A graduate of Purdue University, he has also written FORTRESS PLOESTI, FIGHTER GROUP and THE MEN WHO KILLED THE LUFTWAFFE .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612002095
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	10/11/2013
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Jay Stout is a native of Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University. He was commissioned into the Marine Corps and earned his designation as a naval aviator in 1983 with orders to fly the F-4 Phantom II. He later transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet. As a Hornet pilot, he flew 37 combat missions during Desert Storm. During his 20-year career, he logged more than 4,700 flight hours. The author of 14 books, he works as an operational expert in the defense industry, is a regular public speaker, and lives with his wife near Charlottesville, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

Prologue 11

1 Americans Under Other Flags John A. Campbell 13

2 Tigers in the Fray Ken Jernstedt 31

3 Dive Bombers at Guadalcanal Jesse Barker 43

4 Army Fighters Over Guadalcanal Julius Jacobson 53

5 North Africa and the Pacific Hamilton McWhorter 69

6 The Early Fight John "Jack" Walker 85

7 Heroes at Home Mort Blumenfeld 97

8 Civilians in Uniform Rudolph W. Matz 103

9 Americans Over China Walt Kaestner 119

10 Crushing the Reich Howard "Jack" Dentz 133

11 Photo Reconnaissance Willard Caddell 151

12 Attack and Medium Bombers Over Northern Europe Harry "Bob" Popeney 159

13 Low Level Fury Roman Ohnemus 175

14 Second Battle of the Philippine Sea Ray Crandall Richard Deitchman 189

15 Downed in Yugoslavia Howard O. Wilson 205

16 Breakout Across Europe Robert Macdonald 213

17 Night Armed Reconnaissance Alvin E. "Bud" Anderson 221

18 The Sharecroppers Son Bombs Hitler George M. Kesselring 231

19 Cold and Deadly Sea Donald Whitright 243

20 Escorts Over Europe Herman Schonenberg 251

21 A Can of Peaches Emilius Roger Ciampa 261

Acknowledgments 274

Index 275

What People are Saying About This

Walter Boyne

Jay Stout has written one of the finest tributes to the fighting men of the greatest generation, concentrating not on the famous aces whose actions are well known, but on the “ordinary man” who rose to greatness when the situation demanded it. The author's deep research and innate writing ability merge to make this book a must for every aviation library.
—Walter Boyne, former director of the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and best-selling author.

Bob "Punchy" Powell

Finally, a serious aviation historian has written an exciting book about the unheralded heroes who fought World War II from the sky. This book--in which the veterans tell their own stories--is a long overdue tribute. Most highly recommended.
— Bob "Punchy" Powell, World War II fighter pilot and author of, The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney

Eric Hammel

Jay Stout writes smart, interesting books because he's always on the lookout for interesting people to interview, and he always asks them interesting and unusual questions born of his own curiosity. Unsung Eagles is smart, interesting, well written and pleasantly unusual. It will take you off the beaten track.
— Eric Hammel, author of Aces against Japan

Tom Ivie

Through the recollections of airmen whose deeds were largely unrecognized, Jay Stout--a veteran fighter pilot himself--gives the reader a real understanding of who these men were and what they did in answer to their nation's call.
— Tom Ivie, author of Patton's Eyes in the Sky, and 352nd Fighter Group

Editorial Reviews

I would like to Salute Lt. Colonel Jay Stout, Retired Marine fighter pilot, and current senior analyst for a major defense contractor as well as a well known Author of three major titles published by Casemate Publishers. This is a humorous book a serious book, a history book, an interesting, instructive and entertaining all around grand book. It is easy to read and I do recommend you to buy this book in hardcover because you will want it for your library for sure. Even if you are not an aviation enthusiast you will still enjoy this one due to the valuable historic content. It is well written and you won’t want to put it down once you start reading this fine book.

20 th Century Aviation Reviews

... a fine book about the citizen of airman of World War II. This is an oral history instead of a traditional history. It is the remembrances of the ordinary men who answered the call of their country. ..It doesn't give you the global, geopolitical strategies or the military master plan. Instead you get snap shots of the young men as you put their piece of the puzzle into the larger picture. It helps to see the bigger picture a little more clearly from the average airman's point of view...enjoyable, easy reading, and well worth the purchase price. Well done!

Kepler's Military History Reviews

An incredible work that captures the true voices of America's World War II flyers before they are gone forever. Stout—through the eyes of these unsung eagles—gracefully navigates us through stormy skies and whirling dogfights in a way that is enthralling, heartbreaking, and sometimes funny but never boring."

author of A Nightmare's Prayer: A Marine Harr Michael Franzak

Jay Stout writes smart, interesting books because he's always on the lookout for interesting people to interview, and he always asks them interesting and unusual questions born of his own curiosity. Unsung Eagles is smart, interesting, well written and pleasantly unusual. It will take you off the beaten track,

author of Aces against Japan Eric Hammel

"... a fine book about the citizen of airman of World War II. This is an oral history instead of a traditional history. It is the remembrances of the ordinary men who answered the call of their country. ..It doesn't give you the global, geopolitical strategies or the military master plan. Instead you get snap shots of the young men as you put their piece of the puzzle into the larger picture. It helps to see the bigger picture a little more clearly from the average airman's point of view...enjoyable, easy reading, and well worth the purchase price. Well done!"

Kepler’s Military History

"Jay Stout has written one of the finest tributes to the fighting men of the greatest generation, concentrating not on the famous aces whose actions are well known, but on the “ordinary man” who rose to greatness when the situation demanded it. The author’s deep research and innate writing ability merge to make this book a must for every aviation library."

Walter Boyne

Unsung Eagles offers a rare cockpit perspective of World War II in the air. Jay Stout’s anthology features an extraordinary variety of accounts from airmen—many now deceased—that will become more valuable as the generation that fought the greatest air campaigns of all time continues to depart the pattern.

Barrett Tillman

"I would like to Salute Lt. Colonel Jay Stout, Retired Marine fighter pilot, and current senior analyst for a major defense contractor as well as a well known Author of three major titles published by Casemate Publishers. This is a humorous book a serious book, a history book, an interesting, instructive and entertaining all around grand book. It is easy to read and I do recommend you to buy this book in hardcover because you will want it for your library for sure. Even if you are not an aviation enthusiast you will still enjoy this one due to the valuable historic content. It is well written and you won’t want to put it down once you start reading this fine book."

20th Century Aviation Magazine

"The author nicely sets the scene for his interviewees and then lets them tell their own story with minimal interlocution. Crisply edited with the support of famed aviation writer Eric Hammel, the briskly flowing text keeps the spotlight on the subjects and engages the reader from the outset. This is a book you will turn to time and again to learn more about the citizen airmen who merit only a brief mention in basic histories"

Air Power History

"...crisply written book. It is an engaging history that gives a personal context to the great air battles of Of World War II."

Flypast

"Through the recollections of airmen whose deeds were largely unrecognized, Jay Stout—a veteran fighter pilot himself—gives the reader a real understanding of who these men were and what they did in answer to their nation's call"

Tom Ivie

"Finally, a serious aviation historian has written an exciting book about the unheralded heroes who fought World War II from the sky. This book—in which the veterans tell their own stories—is a long overdue tribute. Most highly recommended."

Bob "Punchy" Powell

"Jay Stout writes smart, interesting books because he's always on the lookout for interesting people to interview, and he always asks them interesting and unusual questions born of his own curiosity. Unsung Eagles is smart, interesting, well written and pleasantly unusual. It will take you off the beaten track,"

Eric Hammel

An incredible work that captures the true voices of America's World War II flyers before they are gone forever. Stout—through the eyes of these unsung eagles—gracefully navigates us through stormy skies and whirling dogfights in a way that is enthralling, heartbreaking, and sometimes funny but never boring."

Michael Franzak

"… the finest compilation of first person accounts of what it is like to go to war in the air…"

Air and Space Magazine

"... a fine book about the citizen of airman of World War II. This is an oral history instead of a traditional history. It is the remembrances of the ordinary men who answered the call of their country. ..It doesn't give you the global, geopolitical strategies or the military master plan. Instead you get snap shots of the young men as you put their piece of the puzzle into the larger picture. It helps to see the bigger picture a little more clearly from the average airman's point of view...enjoyable, easy reading, and well worth the purchase price. Well done!"

Kepler’s Military History

"a very worthwhile project, and the result is an excellent and very readable collection of the individual stories that made up American air power during the war."

History of War