The astonishing, never before told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II—when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia…During a bombing campaign over Romanian oil fields, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian farmers and peasants risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers … to give refuge to the soldiers while they waited for rescue, and in 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip large enough for C-47 cargo planes—without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the cargo planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back—without getting shot down themselves.
Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is now being told for the first time ever. The Forgotten 500 is the gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the greatest escape of World War II.
“Amazing [and] riveting.”—James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers
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Enjoyed the action in the beginning and end of the book but the center was a little to political.
Highly recommend this book. Very informative.
Interesting story but too detailed on politic’s in the region which detracted from the story.
I was fascinated by the story and had trouble putting it down. I highly recommend this book. It will stay with you for a while, as you think about what these men went through in order to come home.
The politics, betrayal, loyalty, the arrogance of nations and individuals involved in Hungary during WWII. The early influence of communism on politics and command decisions. The unknown story of 500+ airman lost in bombing raids on Romania and their brave and heroic rescue and the loyalty of the Hungarian people. A true and good lesson in history.
Awesome book. Author does a great job with both the main story and all of the necessary background detail/info. Highly recommend.
The Forgotten 500, is a shocking true account of a rescue mission in Yugoslavia during World War 2. I literally stayed up all night reading of the events of the American and British arguing about the best method of rescuing airmen who were downed behind enemy lines. The British intelligence made several attempts to sabotage the rescue of the airmen. The Americans ultimately succeed in rescuing the airmen. The political arguing and support of Tito and his communist ideology for Yugoslavia has ramifications long after the end of the war. The rescued pilots made an effort to bring justice to the resistance fighters who protected and kept the airmen safe while behind enemy lines. The Nazis brutally killed and burned villages for harboring the airmen. This is a story that will stay with me. The villagers and airmen built an airstrip with no tools so they could be rescued. Once rescued, the British and Americans did little to support those who put their lives on the line to keep the airmen safe. This is a book that should be required reading.
enjoyed and very informative
This is a wonderful history lesson. Loved the story.
I was unaware of this true story regarding the downed WWII American fliers in the former Yugoslavia. The book does an excellent job of setting up the backstory for the rescue. This is NON-FICTION, but still a page turner for anyone interested in the story.
The real deal. Although this story was headline news on several occasions over time, our Government…out of embarrassment in supporting communist Tito over Mihailovich in Yugoslavia…buried it and the awards given to the heroes of this rescue. “The Forgotten 500” reads like an Indiana Jones novel.
A good book for serious history buffs, but I got too bogged down in details to be able to finish it. But I did learn a lot about a part of the world about which I was totally unfamiliar, and about a part of WWII I knew nothing about. I recommend it with reservations unless you are really into history.
Amazing story of an historic, little-known rescue.
Best non-fiction read of the year.
it was cool and i love it