Download or read book THE WARTIME STORY OF FRANCIS JOSEPH MORRISSEY PILOT SCHOOL THE 450th BOMBARDMENT GROUP FLYING THE B 24 LIBERATOR AND PRISONER OF WAR AT DULAG LUFT STALAG LUFT III SAGAN STALAG XIII D NURNBERG AND STALAG VII A MOOSBURG written by Jeffrey Frank Jones and published by Jeffrey Frank Jones. This book was released on 2020-12-16 with total page 730 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of my grandfather, B-24 Liberator Co-Pilot, Flight Officer and later Lieutenant, Francis Joseph Morrissey. This book chronicles his life: from growing up in Dayton, Ohio; becoming a factory worker just out of high school; enlisting in the Army Air Forces in 1942; completing Pilot School in Lubbock, Texas in August 1943; training to fly a B-24 Liberator; forming and training a crew in Clovis and Alamogordo, New Mexico with Pilot Francis S. Rzatkowski and Navigator “Handsome” Harry E. Parr; being assigned to Crew #302-9-59 in one of the four squadrons in the 450th Bombardment Group - the 722nd Bombardment Squadron (H); flying half way around the world from Herington, Kanas to Manduria, Italy in November and December 1943 with Rzatkowski and Parr on B-24H Liberator Serial No.41- 28603 - the “603” - - painted the “Chiquita Mia” around 10 November 1943; flying missions from Manduria Airfield on three ships; being shot down over Krizevci, Yugoslavia on 30 May 1944 on his 27th mission while Co-Pilot of B-24H Liberator Serial No. 42-94901; interrogation and processing at Dulag Luft; internment at Stalag Luft III; “The March” to Stalag XIII-D Nurnberg Langwasser starting on 27 January 1945; internment at Stalag VII-A; liberation by Patton’s Third Army on 30 April 1945; time spent in the Cigarette Camp Lucky Strike near Le Havre, France; the voyage home on Liberty Ship USS Monticello (AP-61) from 23 May to 3 June 1945; marriage to my grandmother on 16 June 1945; the remainder of his active duty service at Wright Field until October 1946; and post-war service in the Reserve and National Guard until 1972.
Download or read book Lest They Forget Freedom s Price written by Edward M. Bender and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2009-04 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Lest They Forget Freedom's Price," is the fascinating story of B-17 bomber pilot Edward M. Bender (USAAFR retired Lt. Col.), who describes his flight training, bomber missions, capture, and time as a POW in Europe during World War II. When a fire forces the crew of his Flying Fortress down in enemy-occupied France, Lt. Bender is captured by a unit of teenage NAZI recruits from Adolph Hitler's youth corps. He describes his year as a prisoner of the Third Reich at camps in Sagan, Nurnberg, and Moosburg, and the bitterly cold forced march of Winter 1945, when the Germans and POWs evacuated the Stalag Luft III prison camp in anticipation of the advancing Russian army. Finally, Lt. Bender is liberated by Gen. George Patton's army and returns home to adapt to the challenges of life in post-war America. Filled with humor and pathos, this narrative provides a portrait of life in war-time Europe and America, and the challenges faced by an American airman and POW.
Download or read book Home by Christmas written by Martin W. Bowman and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beretter om amerikanske flybesætningers forhold og oplevelser som krigsfanger efter at have overlevet nedskydninger og flyhavarier over tysk besat område under 2. verdenskrig.
Download or read book Casey the Flying Fortress written by Mark Farina and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2016-10-25 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a story of a young man from Chicago who becomes a copilot of a bomber in Europe during World War IIfrom training, to the assembly of his B-17 crew, the mens struggles after becoming prisoners of war, and the discovery some sixty years later of details his surviving family and fellow crew members never knew.
Download or read book Fated to Survive written by William P. Maher and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Luck of the Draw written by Frank Murphy and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The epic true story of an American hero who flew during WWII, soon to be featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks TV Series, Masters of the Air. Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. The final price was staggering. 4,300 B-17s and B-24s failed to return; nearly 21,000 men were taken prisoner or interned in a neutral country, and a further 17,650 made the ultimate sacrifice. Luck of the Draw is more than a war story. It's the incredible, inspiring story of Frank Murphy, one of the few survivors from the 100th Bombardment Group, who cheated death for months in a German POW camp after being shot out of his B-17 Flying Fortress. Now with a new foreword written by his granddaughter Chloe Melas, of CNN, and daughter Elizabeth Murphy. "A gripping, inspirational account of incredible bravery, resilience, and sheer will to survive. A truly extraordinary story!" --General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.)"--
Download or read book Hell s Belle written by Randall L. Rasmussen and published by Sunstone Press. This book was released on 2011-09-12 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was December 3, 1943, and American warplanes were on assignment over Nazi Germany. Sergeant William Rasmussen was the ball turret gunner on the Hell’s Belle, a B-17 heavy bomber. During one of its missions, the Belle was shot down and the captured American flyers were sent to the notorious German prison camp Stalag 17B. In Stalag the American prisoners of war had to deal with the harsh rules imposed by the German Commandant as well as deplorable living conditions: filth, bitter cold, starvation and disease. Told through the eyes of one young flyer, the book has non-stop action, emotion and humor, and captures the upbeat and undefeatable spirit of America’s finest young men who served the United States during WWII. RANDALL L. RASMUSSEN, M.D. used his father’s memoirs, “From a B-17 to Stalag 17B,” as the basis for this book. Dr. Rasmussen also explored William Rasmussen’s notes, the verbal history that he recorded at the local library, research material, and recollections of the narratives he heard his father tell so many times over the years. William Rasmussen was a popular guest speaker at press clubs, library clubs and service organizations in Michigan’s lower peninsula near his home. His narratives were enjoyed immensely since he had a special gift of being able to captivate audiences as they shared his experiences flying over Nazi Germany and being a prisoner of war.
Download or read book Behind Enemy Lines written by Howard R. DeMallie and published by Sterling Publishing Company. This book was released on 2007 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Howard DeMallie, a young American pilot, and his crew are forced to bail out of their B-17 airplane over Holland. He is helped by the Dutch underground and imprisoned in a German prisoner of war camp.
Download or read book Beyond The Call written by Lee Trimble and published by Dutton Caliber. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Near the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front, modern day Ukraine. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men. The Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Russia. As they advanced across Poland, the prison camps of the Third Reich were discovered and liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans. The United States repeatedly offered to help recover their POWs, but were refused. With relations between the allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield; it would provide the base and the cover for the operation. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble. With little covert training, already scarred by the trials of combat, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police, saving hundreds of lives. At the same time he battled to come to terms with the trauma of war and find his own way home to his wife and child. One ordinary man. One extraordinary mission. A thousand lives at stake. This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow men home to safety and freedom. Include photos"--
Download or read book Odyssey of a Bombardier written by John J. Hurt and published by . This book was released on 2016-06-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Odyssey of a Bombardier is the illustrated Prisoner of War "log" that depicts the experiences of bombardier Richard M. Mason in German prison camps after his B-17 was shot down by the Germans in France in 1944. The log follows Mason from the day his plane crashed until his liberation in April, 1945, and his return home to the United States.
Download or read book Time Out written by John Adolf Vietor and published by T A B-Aero. This book was released on 1984 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book War Pilot of Orange written by Bob Vanderstok and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Last of the 39 ers written by Sean Feast and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-19 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the RAF pilot and POW shot down in 1939—including his role in the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III—is told in this intimate WWII biography. While on a reconnaissance sortie over Germany in 1939, Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Alfie Fripp was shot down by the Luftwaffe and taken prisoner. The longest-serving British prisoner of war, he was also the last of the surviving “39-ers” when he died in 2012. His wartime years were spent in numerous camps, including the infamous Stalag Luft III, where he took an active role in the prison break immortalized by the film The Great Escape. Fripp also served during the interwar period and returned to service after being released in 1945. Before he died, Fripp, began working with aviation historian Sean Feast on his memoirs. Feast has now combined copious research with Fripp’s candid account and personal photographs to produce this lively and authoritative biography.
Download or read book The Liberator Legend written by Philip A. St. John and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1990 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Go with God written by Norman Achen and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2006-09 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Go with God is the story of a young prisoner of war who never lost his faith or his passion to break free. Norm Achen was born and raised in the 1920s on a farm in the Midwest. When he was six years old his family was wintering near Casa Grande, Arizona when the legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart made a forced landing in the desert near their home. His mother helped miss Earhart patch her damaged aircraft, and as the young lad watched her plane disappear over the horizon a passion was ignited - he knew that some day he was going to fly. At the onset of WWII, Norm Achen, like millions of other young men, answered Uncle Sam's call and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. While he was awaiting his call to active duty the Carpenter's Union got him a job on a project in the Arizona desert. Ironically, the project was building prison barracks for American citizens - the Japanese displaced from the west coast. He would dwell on this irony when he himself became a POW. After extensive training, Norm earned his wings as a fighter pilot and was assigned to the famous 4th fighter group, previously known as "The Eagle Squadron", based in England. After flying combat missions for two months he was shot down over Germany and, barely surviving the crash landing of his P-51, he was taken prisoner, and initially tried and acquitted of war crimes. The real story of Go with God begins here. After eight months of unspeakable horror, starvation, long bitter cold marches from Stalag to Stalag, watching his fellow prisoners die along the way, Norm and another POW escaped and for fifteen terrifying days managed to evade capture until they literally stumbled out of the woods and into elements of Patton's onrushing Third Army. It is a story of courage, tenacity and faith in God. As an epilogue, Norm tells of working for the Marx Brothers after the war and how they helped him start a new life.
Download or read book Un Armed Un Armored and Un Escorted written by John R. Johnson, Jr. and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-12 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Merriam Press Aviation History 4. First Edition (2014). Inducted in 1942, Johnson went through pilot training, followed by airborne operations flight training with the 27th Troop Carrier Squadron, 10th Troop Carrier Group. Assignment to the 49th Troop Carrier Squadron, 313th Troop Carrier Wing, for training in Sicily in late 1943 came next. Assigned to the 36th Troop Carrier Squadron, 316th Troop Carrier Group, in November 1943, for training for the Normandy D-Day invasion, followed by support for the invasion and Allied advance across Europe during the summer of 1944. Also during this period, he trained for Operation Market Garden, as part of the armada that dropped the 82nd Airborne Division. His C-47 was shot down during this mission and he became a POW. In addition to detailing his life as a POW, from capture and interrogation to life in Stalag Luft 1A, through liberation, Johnson includes details of what it was like back home for his family, particularly after he was listed as Missing in Action after being shot down, including his parents' efforts at trying to get more details from politicians, the Army and members of his unit in England. A detailed personal account by a C-47 pilot who flew Un-Armed, Un-Armored and Un-Escorted over the skies of Europe, delivering men and materiel where it was needed to defeat the enemy. 35 photos and documents Contents Introduction Prelude: 18 September 1944 Chapter 1: The Beginning: It All Started Here Chapter 2: Induction: U.S. Army, Fort Thomas, Kentucky Chapter 3: Loneliness and Mournful Sounds Chapter 4: Casey Jones School of Aeronautics Chapter 5: A Prophecy Unfolds Chapter 6: Aviation Cadet Days: Part 1, Classification/Pre-Flight/Primary Chapter 7: Aviation Cadet Days: Part 2, Basic —Advanced Chapter 8: Prepare for Combat: Bergstrom Field, Austin, Texas, June-July 1943 Chapter 9: Dunnellon, Florida Chapter 10: This One is for the Birds: Dunnellon, Florida, September 1943 Chapter 11: Off to War Chapter 12: Rain Clock: A Jungle Jaunt, 11 October 1943 Chapter 13: Sicily: Trapani/Milo and Castelvetrano, October 12, 1943-February 15, 1944 Chapter 14: Emerald Isle Interlude Chapter 15: Settling In: Preparing for D-Day Chapter 16: First with the Best: Operation OVERLORD: Airborne Mission, NEPTUNE: Boston-Freeport, June 5-6, 1944 Chapter 17: Between Major Combat Missions Chapter 18: Operation MARKET GARDEN Chapter 19: From Hot Pilot to POW Chapter 20: Interrogation: A Psychological Experience 175 Chapter 21: Dulag Luft Transit Camp, October 1944 Chapter 22: Stalag Luft 1A, Part 1 Chapter 23: Meanwhile Back Home, Part 1 Chapter 24: Stalag Luft 1A, Part 2 Chapter 25: At Last, Homeward Bound Chapter 26: Meanwhile Back Home, Part 2 The Author
Download or read book An Airman s Odyssey written by C. Alan Foreman and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2005-04-14 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Airman's Odyssey tells the World War II experience of Staff Sergeant Charles R. Batdorf. At the start of the war, Batdorf was just an eighteen-year old kid from rural Pennsylvania. However, like many other young men in America during the initial months of the war, he didn't wait for his country to call—he volunteered for military service. Yearning to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps and eager to see combat, he requested duty as an aerial gunner. His training led to an assignment as a B-17 waist gunner and ultimately into combat in the skies over Europe. The action and adventure he sought soon turned to a fight for survival in a prisoner of war camp after he and his crew were shot down and captured during a raid on Berlin. He endured life as a POW for over a year before liberation in late April 1945.
