The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
Stephen E. Ambrose
Language: English
Pages: 299
ISBN: 0743223098
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Stephen E. Ambrose, acclaimed author of Band of Brothers and Undaunted Courage, carries us along in the crowded and dangerous B-24s as their crews fought to destroy the German war machine during World War II.
The young men who flew the B-24s over Germany in World War II fought against horrific odds, and, in The Wild Blue, Ambrose recounts their extraordinary heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship with vivid detail and affection.
Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and selected the elite few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war. These are the boys—turned pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunners of the B-24s—who suffered over fifty percent casualties.
With his remarkable gift for bringing alive the action and tension of combat, Ambrose carries us along in the crowded, uncomfortable, and dangerous B-24s as their crews fought to the death through thick black smoke and deadly flak to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine. Twenty-two-year-old George McGovern, who was to become a United States senator and a presidential candidate, flew thirty-five combat missions (all the Army would allow) and won the Distinguished Flying Cross. We meet him and his mates, his co-pilot killed in action, and crews of other planes. Many went down in flames.
As Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers portrayed the bravery and ultimate victory of the American soldiers from Normandy on to Germany, The Wild Blue illustrates the enormous contribution that these young men of the Army Air Forces made to the Allied victory.
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rations in his B-24 to Cerignola, and had discovered that nobody wanted it. So he put the cases into his tent and whenever he could he would take ten boxes of them into town, go to what passed for a restaurant, “and trade them for an Italian spaghetti dinner.” The spaghetti sauce had no meat in it “but the Italians had great tomato sauce and a bottle of cheap wine to go with the meal.”17 Whenever weather prevented a mission, which happened often, some of the men would try to break the monotony at
exploded. “Hell can’t be any worse than that,” McGovern said later. The pilot and crew had heart rates that almost went through the roof, yet unless shrapnel hit the plane there was no sound other than the engines. Mike Valko stood between and slightly behind McGovern and Rounds, watching the instruments. McGovern glanced at Valko. His face was white. Everyone else was scared too, but except for Rounds and Valko, McGovern couldn’t see them.11 The lead bomber for the 741st was using a Mickey
charged that he had been a coward during World War II, Schuknecht - himself a Republican - told an inquiring reporter, “McGovern showed great skill and sensitivity and concern toward his crew. They felt safe with him. He instilled confidence.”18 McGovern was on the assignment sheet for the following morning, December 17. At the predawn briefing he learned the target was an oil refinery at Odertal, Germany. McGovern taxied out to the runway, called the tower, got his clearance, opened the
but Cooper shook him off. But the hydraulic lines were so mangled they were beyond repair, so the fluid Cooper had caught was useless.5 One piece of flak hit Ashlock. It traveled up his leg from the knee to lodge in his butt. Higgins went to apply first aid. Ashlock was hollering, Cooper was hollering, so too everyone else. McGovern got on the intercom. His voice was calm as he told everyone to be quiet. That quieted them down. Then he ordered Valko to check the airplane to try to see how much
II, Vol. 2,Europe: Torch to Pointblank, August 1942 to December 1943. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949. ---.The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 3,Europe: Argument to V-E Day, January 1944 to May 1945. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951. ---.The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 6,Men and Planes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955. Currier, Donald R.50 Mission Crush. Shippensburg, Penn.: Burd Street Press, 1992. Davis, Larry.B-24 Liberator in Action.
