The personal life story of the co-pilot of a B-24 Liberator who, with his 6 fellow crew members, was shot down on their first operational mission when on the return leg to England. His personal story is interwoven with those of his crew throughout their training once assigned to the B-24, their trials and somewhat primitive accommodations throughout that period including the long transit flight to bring their aircraft to Engand. This involved south to Brazil and the long crossing of the South Atlantic to West Africa, north to Morrocco and thence to England.
The crew had to undergo more training flights before the assignment of their first operational mission and it is on this mission that the second part of the story begins. Once the escort of P-51 Mustangs left them over Belgium and before the P-47 Thunderbolts arrived, the German fighters attacked and shot them down. The crew had time to bale out but some were wounded in the air attack but all were picked up by local Belgian resistance members and then started the arduous ‘escape and evasion’ process via the escape lines in Belgium and France and then to Switzerland.
A fascinating true story that is truly stranger than fiction that shows human resilience and comradeship in the face of the enemy.

An inspirational novel about the trials of avoiding capture and escaping from occupied Europe by US and British pilots in WW2. The story will hold your attention and you will find it hard to put down this book. I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read. A great story and book!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A compelling read - the story gripped me from the very begininng. I felt as though I was descending myself via parachute into WW2 Belgium. The pace of the story is brisk enough and there is plenty of factual references to keep track of.
I quite enjoyed the additonal information at the end of the book, a small appendices of sorts which only served to further my curiousity about the 445th Bomb group.
What a tribute to the real men who sacrificed much and spoke little of their navigations of the machinations of war.