Author: Oscar G. Richard III
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807156795
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 165
Book Description
Oscar G. Richard - a native of Sunshine, Louisiana -was not the usual World War II serviceman. After enlisting in the US Army Air Corps in 1942 and training diligently for many months, the B-17 bombardier spent only one week in combat. On his third and last mission - on January 14, 1944 - his plane was shot down over France and he was imprisoned by the Germans. Thus, like many in the Eighth Air Force in late 1943 and early 1944, he spent most of the war not in combat but in captivity. In this memoir, Richard describes his wartime experiences both before and after his capture, recounting the transformation of a fresh-faced recruit into a seasoned POW. Offering insight into the early days of soldier life, he chronicles his enlistment, the months he spent waiting on the home front for induction, and his training at various sites in the American West. He gives accounts of his bombing missions and relives his parachute escape from his doomed plane and his subsequent seizure. The book relates the path that most German-held POWs, or "kriegies", took after capture: from the front lines to solitary confinement and interrogation at Dulag Luft, through a long and uncertain journey through Germany, to the final destination - for Richard, Stalag Luft 1, near Barth on the Baltic coast.
Kriegie
Author: Oscar G. Richard III
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807156795
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 165
Book Description
Oscar G. Richard - a native of Sunshine, Louisiana -was not the usual World War II serviceman. After enlisting in the US Army Air Corps in 1942 and training diligently for many months, the B-17 bombardier spent only one week in combat. On his third and last mission - on January 14, 1944 - his plane was shot down over France and he was imprisoned by the Germans. Thus, like many in the Eighth Air Force in late 1943 and early 1944, he spent most of the war not in combat but in captivity. In this memoir, Richard describes his wartime experiences both before and after his capture, recounting the transformation of a fresh-faced recruit into a seasoned POW. Offering insight into the early days of soldier life, he chronicles his enlistment, the months he spent waiting on the home front for induction, and his training at various sites in the American West. He gives accounts of his bombing missions and relives his parachute escape from his doomed plane and his subsequent seizure. The book relates the path that most German-held POWs, or "kriegies", took after capture: from the front lines to solitary confinement and interrogation at Dulag Luft, through a long and uncertain journey through Germany, to the final destination - for Richard, Stalag Luft 1, near Barth on the Baltic coast.
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807156795
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 165
Book Description
Oscar G. Richard - a native of Sunshine, Louisiana -was not the usual World War II serviceman. After enlisting in the US Army Air Corps in 1942 and training diligently for many months, the B-17 bombardier spent only one week in combat. On his third and last mission - on January 14, 1944 - his plane was shot down over France and he was imprisoned by the Germans. Thus, like many in the Eighth Air Force in late 1943 and early 1944, he spent most of the war not in combat but in captivity. In this memoir, Richard describes his wartime experiences both before and after his capture, recounting the transformation of a fresh-faced recruit into a seasoned POW. Offering insight into the early days of soldier life, he chronicles his enlistment, the months he spent waiting on the home front for induction, and his training at various sites in the American West. He gives accounts of his bombing missions and relives his parachute escape from his doomed plane and his subsequent seizure. The book relates the path that most German-held POWs, or "kriegies", took after capture: from the front lines to solitary confinement and interrogation at Dulag Luft, through a long and uncertain journey through Germany, to the final destination - for Richard, Stalag Luft 1, near Barth on the Baltic coast.
Kriegie's Journey
Author: Earl Hendricks
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 262
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 262
Book Description
From Interrogation to Liberation: a Photographic Journey Stalag Luft Iii
Author: Marilyn Jeffers Walton
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1491847069
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 740
Book Description
During World War II, 300,000 United States Army Air Corps airmen were shot down. Of that number, 51,000 were prisoners of war or listed as missing in action. Bombardiers, positioned in the vulnerable bombardiers compartment at the front of the aircraft, were in high demand. The authors fathers were two such bombardiers, one on a B-17 and the other on a B-24. Like so many of the post-war generation, the authors traveled on their own emotional journeys to reconstruct their fathers WWII experiences. Their fathers fought in the flak-ridden blue battlefield, and like thousands of other airmen shot out of the sky, became prisoners of war. They would endure deprivation, loneliness, and great peril. Held at Stalag Luft III, where the Great Escape of movie fame took place, they, along with the British, were eventually force marched 52-miles in the dead of winter to Spremberg, Germany, and loaded onto overcrowded, filthy, boxcars, the Americans to be taken to Stalag VIIA in Moosburg, Germany, or to Stalag XIII-D in N rnberg. Languishing until their liberation in barbaric conditions with nearly 120,000 international POWs, they witnessed the death throes of the Third Reich. With many sons and daughters trying to explore the wartime histories of their loved ones, the authors supply crucial information and insight regarding the World War II POW experience in Europe. Often times, by necessity, that experience reflects the co-existence and tenuous relationship with the Germans holding them. In this book, there are stories that up until now have not been heard, and there are hundreds of pictures, many previously unseen, illustrating the prisoners plight. This book is a documentation of riveting history and a chance to vicariously live the war, told through their voices --echoes now fading with time. Their sacrifices to ensure precious freedom should never be forgotten.
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1491847069
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 740
Book Description
During World War II, 300,000 United States Army Air Corps airmen were shot down. Of that number, 51,000 were prisoners of war or listed as missing in action. Bombardiers, positioned in the vulnerable bombardiers compartment at the front of the aircraft, were in high demand. The authors fathers were two such bombardiers, one on a B-17 and the other on a B-24. Like so many of the post-war generation, the authors traveled on their own emotional journeys to reconstruct their fathers WWII experiences. Their fathers fought in the flak-ridden blue battlefield, and like thousands of other airmen shot out of the sky, became prisoners of war. They would endure deprivation, loneliness, and great peril. Held at Stalag Luft III, where the Great Escape of movie fame took place, they, along with the British, were eventually force marched 52-miles in the dead of winter to Spremberg, Germany, and loaded onto overcrowded, filthy, boxcars, the Americans to be taken to Stalag VIIA in Moosburg, Germany, or to Stalag XIII-D in N rnberg. Languishing until their liberation in barbaric conditions with nearly 120,000 international POWs, they witnessed the death throes of the Third Reich. With many sons and daughters trying to explore the wartime histories of their loved ones, the authors supply crucial information and insight regarding the World War II POW experience in Europe. Often times, by necessity, that experience reflects the co-existence and tenuous relationship with the Germans holding them. In this book, there are stories that up until now have not been heard, and there are hundreds of pictures, many previously unseen, illustrating the prisoners plight. This book is a documentation of riveting history and a chance to vicariously live the war, told through their voices --echoes now fading with time. Their sacrifices to ensure precious freedom should never be forgotten.
Bomber Command Pilot: From the Battle of Britain to the Augsburg Raid
Author: Gerald Sherwood
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399012525
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
John Sherwood was commissioned into the RAF as a pilot officer on leaving school in 1936. In mid-1940, he was posted to a frontline bomber squadron. He went on to undertake a full tour of thirty sorties against enemy targets during the summer of 1940, earning himself a Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in what has become known as the ‘Battle of the Barges’. Sherwood flew Manchesters on a further series of eventful bombing missions against the enemy, earning a Bar to the DFC in recognition of his determination and leadership. It was in the new Lancasters that Sherwood, by then a Squadron Leader, undertook his most daring mission. This was Operation Margin, the attack upon the M.A.N. diesel engine works at Augsburg in Bavaria on 17 April 1942. This involved a flight of some 600 miles in broad daylight with no fighter escort, flying at less than 250 feet in order to avoid enemy radar. The raid was led by both Sherwood and Squadron Leader John Nettleton. Sherwood was shot down during the raid and was duly posted as missing. Assumed dead for six weeks, he eventually surfaced as a prisoner of war in German hands at Stalag Luft III. Operation Margin was considered a success and both squadron leaders involved were recommended for the award of the Victoria Cross. Whilst Nettleton’s citation was approved, and the VC duly invested, Sherwood’s was amended by the Air Ministry to state: ‘To be recommended for DSO, if found to be alive.’ The DSO was gazetted on 30 June 1942. Whilst in captivity, Sherwood witnessed at first-hand the Wooden Horse escape, the infamous Great Escape, and, finally, the Long March across Germany in the last winter of the war in Europe. He was finally repatriated to the UK during Operation Exodus after the fall of the Third Reich in 1945. Written by his son, Bomber Command Pilot provides a fascinating insight into the development of Bomber Command into the powerful strike force that helped turn the tide of victory in the West.
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399012525
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
John Sherwood was commissioned into the RAF as a pilot officer on leaving school in 1936. In mid-1940, he was posted to a frontline bomber squadron. He went on to undertake a full tour of thirty sorties against enemy targets during the summer of 1940, earning himself a Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in what has become known as the ‘Battle of the Barges’. Sherwood flew Manchesters on a further series of eventful bombing missions against the enemy, earning a Bar to the DFC in recognition of his determination and leadership. It was in the new Lancasters that Sherwood, by then a Squadron Leader, undertook his most daring mission. This was Operation Margin, the attack upon the M.A.N. diesel engine works at Augsburg in Bavaria on 17 April 1942. This involved a flight of some 600 miles in broad daylight with no fighter escort, flying at less than 250 feet in order to avoid enemy radar. The raid was led by both Sherwood and Squadron Leader John Nettleton. Sherwood was shot down during the raid and was duly posted as missing. Assumed dead for six weeks, he eventually surfaced as a prisoner of war in German hands at Stalag Luft III. Operation Margin was considered a success and both squadron leaders involved were recommended for the award of the Victoria Cross. Whilst Nettleton’s citation was approved, and the VC duly invested, Sherwood’s was amended by the Air Ministry to state: ‘To be recommended for DSO, if found to be alive.’ The DSO was gazetted on 30 June 1942. Whilst in captivity, Sherwood witnessed at first-hand the Wooden Horse escape, the infamous Great Escape, and, finally, the Long March across Germany in the last winter of the war in Europe. He was finally repatriated to the UK during Operation Exodus after the fall of the Third Reich in 1945. Written by his son, Bomber Command Pilot provides a fascinating insight into the development of Bomber Command into the powerful strike force that helped turn the tide of victory in the West.
Journey's End
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 0297858238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 487
Book Description
'A brilliant insight into life in the air and on the ground' Observer In February 1945, British and American bombers rained down thousands of tons of incendiaries on the city of Dresden, killing an estimated 25,000 people and destroying one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The controversy that erupted shortly afterwards, and which continues to this day, has long overshadowed the other events of the bomber war, and blighted the memory of the young men who gave their lives to fight in the skies over Germany. Journey's End neither condemns nor condones the bombing of Dresden, but puts it in its proper context as part of a much larger campaign. To the young men who flew over Germany night after night there were other much more pressing worries: the V2 rockets that threatened their loved ones at home; the brand new German jet fighters that could strike them at speeds of over 600mph. They lived life at a heightened tempo during these final unforgiving months of the bomber war when no quarter was given on either side. As the climactic volume in Kevin Wilson's acclaimed bomber war trilogy, Journey's End chronicles the brutal endgame of a conflict that caused such devastation and tragedy on both sides.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 0297858238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 487
Book Description
'A brilliant insight into life in the air and on the ground' Observer In February 1945, British and American bombers rained down thousands of tons of incendiaries on the city of Dresden, killing an estimated 25,000 people and destroying one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The controversy that erupted shortly afterwards, and which continues to this day, has long overshadowed the other events of the bomber war, and blighted the memory of the young men who gave their lives to fight in the skies over Germany. Journey's End neither condemns nor condones the bombing of Dresden, but puts it in its proper context as part of a much larger campaign. To the young men who flew over Germany night after night there were other much more pressing worries: the V2 rockets that threatened their loved ones at home; the brand new German jet fighters that could strike them at speeds of over 600mph. They lived life at a heightened tempo during these final unforgiving months of the bomber war when no quarter was given on either side. As the climactic volume in Kevin Wilson's acclaimed bomber war trilogy, Journey's End chronicles the brutal endgame of a conflict that caused such devastation and tragedy on both sides.
The Big Break
Author: Stephen Dando-Collins
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250087562
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
"Oflag 64, a World War II prisoner of war (POW) camp based in Schubin, Poland, was speculated to be one of the only POW camps set up exclusively for U.S. Army ground component officers. About 150 American officers lived in the camp in 1943, and by 1945, that number had expanded to 1,500. When the German commandant Colonel Fritz Schneider received orders to march all of his prisoners to west Germany to escape the Russians in January 1945, that number declined rapidly as the American officers put into place long-existing escape plans that would make history. In The Big Break, we follow famous POWs, such as General Eisenhower's personal aide, General Patton's son-in-law, and Ernest Hemingway's eldest son, as the first American escapes via a tunnel in a stinking latrine, with almost 250 US officers following closely behind in a mass break. The Schubin escapes are by far the largest Allied POW escape of the second World War, surpassing even The Great Escape of 1944. Historian Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles the gripping story of irrepressible Americans determined to be free, brave Poles risking their lives to help them, and dogmatic Nazis determined to stop them"--
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250087562
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
"Oflag 64, a World War II prisoner of war (POW) camp based in Schubin, Poland, was speculated to be one of the only POW camps set up exclusively for U.S. Army ground component officers. About 150 American officers lived in the camp in 1943, and by 1945, that number had expanded to 1,500. When the German commandant Colonel Fritz Schneider received orders to march all of his prisoners to west Germany to escape the Russians in January 1945, that number declined rapidly as the American officers put into place long-existing escape plans that would make history. In The Big Break, we follow famous POWs, such as General Eisenhower's personal aide, General Patton's son-in-law, and Ernest Hemingway's eldest son, as the first American escapes via a tunnel in a stinking latrine, with almost 250 US officers following closely behind in a mass break. The Schubin escapes are by far the largest Allied POW escape of the second World War, surpassing even The Great Escape of 1944. Historian Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles the gripping story of irrepressible Americans determined to be free, brave Poles risking their lives to help them, and dogmatic Nazis determined to stop them"--
"Kriegy."
Author: Clayton G. Metcalf
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Prisoners of war
Languages : en
Pages : 120
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Prisoners of war
Languages : en
Pages : 120
Book Description
Great Escape Forger
Author: Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526768011
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
Carl Holmstrom’s superb artwork depicts life as a ‘kriegie’ in a unique manner. But, more than that, he spent the major part of his captivity in Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War Camp, famous for ‘The Great Escape’. The audacity of the 76 escapees was only matched by the callousness of the Nazis who murdered 50 after recapture. As well as skillfully recording camp life, Carl forged invaluable official documents. He also sketched his fellow prisoners and encouraged others to take up drawing as hobby. Remarkably he saved over 200 examples of his work by carrying them on the appallingly arduous 1945 winter march from Poland into Germany. Post war, Carl Holmstrom said, “The drawings were made during imprisonment and represent a sincere effort to portray to the American people and especially to the relatives of the prisoners, intimate glimpses of Kriegie life.” His words proved to be prophetic. An expansion of his earlier self-published Kriegie Life, this superb book honors Carl’s exceptional artistic gift. This book has strong claim to contain the finest collection of POW art to emerge from Nazi-occupied Europe.
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526768011
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
Carl Holmstrom’s superb artwork depicts life as a ‘kriegie’ in a unique manner. But, more than that, he spent the major part of his captivity in Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War Camp, famous for ‘The Great Escape’. The audacity of the 76 escapees was only matched by the callousness of the Nazis who murdered 50 after recapture. As well as skillfully recording camp life, Carl forged invaluable official documents. He also sketched his fellow prisoners and encouraged others to take up drawing as hobby. Remarkably he saved over 200 examples of his work by carrying them on the appallingly arduous 1945 winter march from Poland into Germany. Post war, Carl Holmstrom said, “The drawings were made during imprisonment and represent a sincere effort to portray to the American people and especially to the relatives of the prisoners, intimate glimpses of Kriegie life.” His words proved to be prophetic. An expansion of his earlier self-published Kriegie Life, this superb book honors Carl’s exceptional artistic gift. This book has strong claim to contain the finest collection of POW art to emerge from Nazi-occupied Europe.
Princeton Alumni Weekly
Author:
Publisher: princeton alumni weekly
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1038
Book Description
Publisher: princeton alumni weekly
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1038
Book Description
The Cooler King
Author: Patrick Bishop
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468313312
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
The true story of the WWII pilot who inspired Steve McQueen’s character in The Great Escape: “An extraordinary chronicle of resolve and heroism.” —Midwest Book Review When American fighter pilot William Ash’s plane was shot down over France in 1942, he was captured by German forces and placed in a Nazi prison camp. Ash, bolstered by the grit and ingenuity he developed during his upbringing in Texas during the Great Depression, would spend the rest of the war defying the Nazis and striving to escape from every POW camp in which they incarcerated him. His thrilling exploits made him the inspiration for Steve McQueen’s character in The Great Escape. Ash’s is a saga full of incident and high drama, climaxing in a breakout through a tunnel dug in the latrines of the Oflag XXIB prison camp in Poland—a great untold episode of World War II. Alongside William Ash is a cast of fascinating characters, including Roger Bushell, who would go on to lead the Great Escape, and Paddy Barthropp, a dashing Battle of Britain pilot who became Ash’s best friend and shared many of his adventures. The Cooler King is the uplifting story of one man’s extraordinary resilience in the face of impossible odds, and stands as an inspirational testament to the invincible spirit of liberty.
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468313312
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
The true story of the WWII pilot who inspired Steve McQueen’s character in The Great Escape: “An extraordinary chronicle of resolve and heroism.” —Midwest Book Review When American fighter pilot William Ash’s plane was shot down over France in 1942, he was captured by German forces and placed in a Nazi prison camp. Ash, bolstered by the grit and ingenuity he developed during his upbringing in Texas during the Great Depression, would spend the rest of the war defying the Nazis and striving to escape from every POW camp in which they incarcerated him. His thrilling exploits made him the inspiration for Steve McQueen’s character in The Great Escape. Ash’s is a saga full of incident and high drama, climaxing in a breakout through a tunnel dug in the latrines of the Oflag XXIB prison camp in Poland—a great untold episode of World War II. Alongside William Ash is a cast of fascinating characters, including Roger Bushell, who would go on to lead the Great Escape, and Paddy Barthropp, a dashing Battle of Britain pilot who became Ash’s best friend and shared many of his adventures. The Cooler King is the uplifting story of one man’s extraordinary resilience in the face of impossible odds, and stands as an inspirational testament to the invincible spirit of liberty.