Description
Book SynopsisA remarkable collection of accounts of intrepid American aircrew shot down over enemy lines during World War II and how they got away.
To be an airman in the Eighth Air Force flying over the war-torn skies of Europe required skill, tenacity, and luck. Those who were shot down and evaded capture needed all of that and more if they were to make it back to friendly lines. These are their stories. Each is compiled from the original intelligence debrief written by the pilots or aircrew themselves.
Bill Yenne details how a spider web of escape routes sprang up, created by the local Résistance. Downed airmen were clothed, given false papers, and hidden so they could be smuggled back to England. These efforts were then supplemented by Allied intelligence agents. But the risks remained the same. Capture could mean death.
Their accounts are sometimes funny, often heartbreaking. P-47 pilot Joel McPherson feigned appendicitis and was able to escape from the loca
Trade Review
In The Ones Who Got Away, Bill Yenne deftly weaves the individual stories of American airmen into an epic adventure tale of downed aviators on the run and the French, Belgian, and Dutch civilians who risked everything to help them dodge the Gestapo and escape occupied Europe. * Steve K. Bailey, author of 'Target Hong Kong' *
Table of Contents
List of Plate Section Illustrations Maps Introduction Part One: Strangers in a Strange Land 1. The Lay of This Treacherous Land 2. Herding Wildcats 3. Many Paths to Freedom Part Two: Riding the Tail of a Comet 4. Hounded Houndsmen 5. Christmas in Limbo 6. Undocumented Fools At Large 7. A Menacing New Year 8. Unexpected Detours 9. In Hostile Hands 10. Long and Winding Roads Part Three: The Man on the Bicycle 11. May Day Over Saint-Nazaire 12. Lines on the Map 13. Bombard Our House With Chocolate 14. Perils of the Pyrenees 15. New Lives, Later Lives Part Four: Black Tuesday Boys 16. Inside the Third Reich 17. Desperate Fugitives 18. Shipwrecked Brothers 19. Not an Easy Road 20. Riding the Comet 21. False Starts, and Meeting the Fox Hunter 22. Homeward Bound Part Five: Long Roads from Regensburg 23. A Rough Start to a Long Day 24. Tales of a Shillelagh and a Double Agent 25. A Milk Run Turns Sour 26. To Brussels and Beyond 27. Unexpected Threats 28. The Belgian Waiting Game 29. This is Your Life Part Six: Bandits of the Dordogne 30. A Journey Formidable 31. Hollywood Maquisards 32. We Thought He Was a Madman 33. Over the Wall 34. A Bandit’s Life for Me 35. Danger All Around 36. Waiting for the Right Moment 37. D-Days 38. Unsettled Lives Part Seven: Reflections of Silver Screens 39. Leading from the Front 40. Suspicious Characters 41. Moving in Circles 42. Hollywood on the Seine 43. Operation Overlord 44. Hollywood Calling Part Eight: Lightning Struck Twice 45. Aces Among the Wolves 46. Aces Down 47. Back into Combat 48. Déjà Vu, Again and Again 49. A Haunted Life Part Nine: Betrayal and Triumph 50. Dobie’s Boys 51. A Valuable Asset 52. Jake and Marty 53. Running Through the Woods 54. Into a World of Intrigue 55. A Safe House Most Unsafe 56. A Dungeon Most Medieval 57. Sleight of Hand 58. Improbable Twists of Fate 59. Mornings After 60. Years After Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
