“For all of us to be free, a few of us must be brave, and that is the history of America.” But dying for freedom isn’t the worst that could happen. Being forgotten is. — “You flew with what I would call ‘controlled fear’. You were scared stiff, but it was controlled. My ball turret gunner—he couldn’t take it anymore… I guess he was right. He’s dead now. But he had lost control of the fear. He … he had lost control of the fear. He never got out of that ball turret; he died in that ball turret.” —B-24 bombardier
~THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL IN THE BEST SELLING ‘The Things Our Fathers Saw’ SERIES~
How soon we forget. Or perhaps, we were never told. That is understandable, given what they saw.
— “I spent a lot of time in hospitals. I had a lot of trouble reconciling how my mother died [of a cerebral hemorrhage] from the telegram she opened, saying I was [shot down and] “missing in action”. I didn’t explain to her the fact that ‘missing in action’ is not necessarily ‘killed in action’. You know? I didn’t even think about that. How do you think you feel when you find out you killed your mother?” —B-24 bombardier
At the height of World War II, LOOK Magazine profiled a small upstate New York community for a series of articles portraying it as the wholesome, patriotic model of life on the home front. Seventy years later, a history teacher tracks down the veterans with a connection to “Hometown, USA” who fought the war in the air over Europe, men who were tempered in the tough times of the Great Depression and forged in battle. He rescues and resurrects firsthand accounts of combat and brotherhood, of captivity and redemption, and the aftermath of a war that left no American community unscathed.
Here are the stories that the magazine could not tell, from a vanishing generation speaking to America today.
— “I was in the hospital with a flak wound. The next mission, the entire crew was killed. The thing that haunts me is that I can’t put a face to the guy who was a replacement. He was an 18-year old Jewish kid named Henry Vogelstein from Brooklyn. It was his first and last mission. He made his only mission with a crew of strangers.” —B-24 navigator
By the end of 2018, fewer than 400,000 WW II veterans will still be with us, out of the over 16 million who put on a uniform. But why is it that today, nobody seems to know these stories?
Maybe our veterans did not volunteer to tell us; maybe we were too busy with our own lives to ask. But they opened up to the younger generation, when a history teacher told their grandchildren to ask.
— “The German fighters picked us. I told the guys, ‘Keep your eyes open, we are about to be hit!’ I saw about six or eight feet go off my left wing. I rang the ‘bail-out’ signal, and I reached out and grabbed the co-pilot out of his seat. I felt the airplane climbing, and I thought to myself, ‘If this thing stalls out, and starts falling down backwards, no one is going to get out…’” —B-17 pilot
This book brings you the previously untold firsthand accounts of combat and brotherhood, of captivity and redemption, and the aftermath of a war that left no American community unscathed.
As we forge ahead as a nation, we owe it to ourselves to become reacquainted with a generation that is fast leaving us, who asked for nothing but gave everything, to attune ourselves as Americans to a broader appreciation of what we stand for.
— “A must-read in every high school in America. It is a very poignant look back at our greatest generation; maybe it will inspire the next one.”
Reviewer, Vol. I
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My father was a co-pilot on a Liberator bomber B17 during the 2nd World War. Like most men, he did not talk about it. Even though I was a daughter, I was interested but he wouldn’t talk.. He stayed in the Navy for his career. The book I read was Book II. My Dad flew in the South Pacific. Book I. His team was shot down on a Japanese held island. They escaped on a raft and and found an island with Philippian men who signaled a submarine and then the crew was picked up. I don’t believed they lost anyone. I will read Book I when it is shown on Bookbub. The book I read (Book II) was a page turner for me. Thank you
All the books in this series are worth reading. I would have liked to have read a little more about actual combat.
Good look at 1930s / 1940s America. These men grew up during the depression and then crewed bombers over Europe. What is interesting is how poor everyone was but it wasn’t considered poverty.
Amazing to see the number of engine failures and other situations involved in WWII combat operations. Very young men given tough tasks and equipment that aged quickly. MIssion overroad safety and it was often luck that brought the aircrews back home.
I had hoped that it would be full of combat stories but it wasn’t like that at all. Nevertheless it was very interesting to hear the personal stories of some of the guys who flew on WWII bombers.
Great recording of “Greatest Generation “ stories. Including all positions of crew gave this book a team feeling most 8th Air Force Books don’t achieve.
Not what I was expecting in a history of WWII.
Disappointing and not recommended.
Very easy read. Nice job with the personal stories and ties to hometown.
Authentic, true tales from the men who lived them…these men where men who pressed forward during terrific time and in dangerous situations.
You’ve undoubtedly heard the cliché ‘now you know the rest of the story’…, both volumes of “The Things Our Father’s Saw” in the Europe and the Pacific theaters are written not only by the author, but also stories that were added from other veterans that fought in that war. It gives a down to earth rendition of what it was like in so many other ways.
I wanted to have more information and more stories about their experiences in the war itself, rather than how or why they signed up for the military.
Good
Great stories from men who flew in the 8th AF during WWII. Things Dad never told me about his experiences as a B 17 navigator were probably similar to what these men went through.
If you’ve ever been inside a B 17 or B 24 and then read this book it really highlights how brave these young men really were. The skin on their aircraft wouldn’t stop a .22 LR let alone the flak and high caliber cannon and machine gun rounds they flew through.
This gave me a deeper appreciation of the bomber crews in WWII.
Definitely worth the time to read it.
A lot about the Eighth Air Force. Based where everybody spoke English, so the 8th got all the glory. My dad was in 15th and hammered Ploesti. That was a bigger story. But a lot of these tales match my dad’s memories.
This is one great read.
Very original. My father was a high ranking WWII veteran and was finally willing to talk more about his service with Grn. Patton from 1938 until Patton’s death. I also had an Uncle who was in one of my he first bombers shot down in WWII. He was in Stalag Luft 3 for the duration of the War and survived. The reports of these veterans were accurate and in conformance with my conversations with my father wnd uncle. Worth reading, especially for younger men and women who know little or nothing if the sacrifices our fathers and relatives made fir us and our nation. Ben A. Goodin
Great book for anyone interested in 1st person WW2 stories.