B-17 Gunner Charles M. Eyer, Survivor of 59 Combat Missions and a Year in Nazi Captivity
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Craig A. Kleinsmith is a retired United States Army Master Sergeant, and is also retired from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.“Kleinsmith's abilities as a writer shine in this book as he's chosen words and placed scenes such that the reader is very much in the moment. … Kleinsmith got to know Eyer in 1973 while serving in the local Army National Guard as Eyer was the maintenance repair man at the armory. The two worked closely for a dozen years ‘resulting in a close and enduring friendship.’ Over time Kleinsmith learned Charlie Eyer's story. Then, coupled with his own research as is detailed in the appendices, chapter end notes, and bibliography, he was able to share Eyer's experiences with the help and approval of Charlie Eyer's son and daughter. Once you start reading <i>B-17 Gunner</i>, you'll not be able to put it down until you've reached the last page. The story will linger with you long after.”—<i>Speed Readers</i>
For three years, Staff Sergeant Charles M. Eyer served as a B-17 ball turret gunner over Europe during World War II. Based in part on a secret journal he kept as a prisoner of war, this book records Eyer's firsthand account of his harrowing 59 combat missions (B-17 crewmen could not expect to survive 10), his escape from a burning B-17 deep inside Germany, the horrors of confinement in a Nazi POW camp, and his survival of an 80-day forced march during the brutal winter of 1944-45.
Preface
Introduction
1. Pre-War Life
2. The Making of a Gunner
3. North Africa
4. New Crew and New Adventures
5. Return to Hell
6. Day of Days—May 12, 1944
7. Stalag Luft IV
8. The March
9. Liberation
10. Postwar
Epilogue
Appendices
A. POW Journal
B. POW Postcards
C. Letter to Mother
D. Liberation Journal
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index