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Beyond The Call: The True Story of One World War II Pilot's Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front
Near the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men.
As the Red Army advanced across Poland, the Nazi prison camps were liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans.
The United States repeatedly offered to help, but were refused. With relations between the Allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble.
With little covert training, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and determination. This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow soldiers home to safety and freedom.
As the Red Army advanced across Poland, the Nazi prison camps were liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans.
The United States repeatedly offered to help, but were refused. With relations between the Allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble.
With little covert training, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and determination. This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow soldiers home to safety and freedom.
323 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
February 7, 2017
Robert Trimble was offered a position to fly downed planes away from the front lines of WW2, but instead he was thrown into Poland to rescue POWs. At the time, Russia was in control of Poland, and they didn't believe in POWs. They killed thousands of their own POWs. Meanwhile, Auschwitz and other concentration camps were being liberated through out Poland, and this was causing a major refugee crisis that Russia ignored or treated them as spies. Trimble discusses the difficulties that he had in Russia and Poland.
The book was informative and sad. Overall, the book was an important story to tell about the Russia and US relationship during WW2.
The book was informative and sad. Overall, the book was an important story to tell about the Russia and US relationship during WW2.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2015
Mindboggling. The story of Capt. Trimble is amazing. He certainly deserved more recognition than he received. I'm glad he decided to tell his story. The book was well written and a real page turner. Of the books I've read in the last few years, this definitely ranks up at the top.
August 19, 2017
This is a very touching book about a U.S. air pilot stationed in Poltava in what was then the Soviet Union (now Ukraine). Robert Trimble arrived there in February of 1945. He would fly into Poland where U.S. pilots were found – but he discovered much more.
Ostensibly this air base was used to help U.S. prisoners of war who were in areas liberated by the Red Army. Also it was to help Allied pilots who had landed in Soviet territory, like Poland, after a raid and/or plane had gone astray. The U.S. Poltava base had need of qualified pilots, and Robert Trimble was more than qualified after flying 35 combat raids over Germany. The book is written by his son.
Robert encountered first-hand what life was like under the ruthless dictatorship of Marshall Stalin. As per the Yalta agreements, the Soviets were suppose to aid and help Allied prisoners of war return as quickly as possible to their homeland – most of the time they didn’t care and treated them as foreign spies – many were temporarily incarcerated. Robert also encountered some of the hundreds of thousands of slave labourers who were wandering the countryside after their liberation. He sees brutal evidence of the Holocaust. This was not war at an altitude of ten thousand feet – which is undoubtedly harrowing but in a different way. On the ground in Poland, Robert met the people who had experienced a long vicious occupation – and were now experiencing another one under the Soviet Union.
This is the story of how Robert helped some of these people to return to their homeland – both POWs and civilians – some slave labourers from France. Aiding civilians was outside the scope of what Robert was “supposed” to do – and Soviet authorities (NKVD) began to investigate. For this, he received no rewards from his government, and certainly not from the Soviet Union. The only gratitude he got was in the moment – when he got handshakes, hugs, and smiles from the dispossessed that he was helping in Poland. Robert was severely traumatized by what he saw and what he could not do.
This is a wonderful tribute and compelling story of a man who did what he could under extremely dire conditions.
My uncle, a navigator with the RCAF, was held prisoner in Stalag Luft I in Eastern Germany near the town of Barth. Fortunately his liberation went smoother than those described in this book. There was an airbase near-by that the liberated prisoners smoothed out – and on May 15th Flying Fortress airplanes landed to take the prisoners home. My uncle remarked that the civilians nearby looked at them forlornly – they knew what was in store for them – there would be no more eye-witnesses left.
Ostensibly this air base was used to help U.S. prisoners of war who were in areas liberated by the Red Army. Also it was to help Allied pilots who had landed in Soviet territory, like Poland, after a raid and/or plane had gone astray. The U.S. Poltava base had need of qualified pilots, and Robert Trimble was more than qualified after flying 35 combat raids over Germany. The book is written by his son.
Robert encountered first-hand what life was like under the ruthless dictatorship of Marshall Stalin. As per the Yalta agreements, the Soviets were suppose to aid and help Allied prisoners of war return as quickly as possible to their homeland – most of the time they didn’t care and treated them as foreign spies – many were temporarily incarcerated. Robert also encountered some of the hundreds of thousands of slave labourers who were wandering the countryside after their liberation. He sees brutal evidence of the Holocaust. This was not war at an altitude of ten thousand feet – which is undoubtedly harrowing but in a different way. On the ground in Poland, Robert met the people who had experienced a long vicious occupation – and were now experiencing another one under the Soviet Union.
This is the story of how Robert helped some of these people to return to their homeland – both POWs and civilians – some slave labourers from France. Aiding civilians was outside the scope of what Robert was “supposed” to do – and Soviet authorities (NKVD) began to investigate. For this, he received no rewards from his government, and certainly not from the Soviet Union. The only gratitude he got was in the moment – when he got handshakes, hugs, and smiles from the dispossessed that he was helping in Poland. Robert was severely traumatized by what he saw and what he could not do.
This is a wonderful tribute and compelling story of a man who did what he could under extremely dire conditions.
My uncle, a navigator with the RCAF, was held prisoner in Stalag Luft I in Eastern Germany near the town of Barth. Fortunately his liberation went smoother than those described in this book. There was an airbase near-by that the liberated prisoners smoothed out – and on May 15th Flying Fortress airplanes landed to take the prisoners home. My uncle remarked that the civilians nearby looked at them forlornly – they knew what was in store for them – there would be no more eye-witnesses left.
November 9, 2015
it looks as if the authors have grafted a highly improbable spy story on to the real wartime experiences of Captain Robert M. Trimble of the USAAF.
The premise on which the whole story rests is demonstrably false. The preface claims that “Allied ex-prisoners (…) were left to wander, starving, sick and dying. Some were fired upon indiscriminately by Russian troops; some were robbed; many more were marched to the rear and abandoned. Even worse, hundreds were rounded up into camps where they were treated as potential spies or anti-Soviet partisans and kept in squalid conditions. Those who were able to went into hiding in the forest and abandoned farms …” etc., etc.
While none of these statements is 100% untrue, put together in this way they create a very distorted picture. As long as the British and Americans kept up their end of the bargain and repatriated Soviet citizens – which they did, even if in some cases it involved the use of rifle butts, bayonets and in some cases shooting to help the unwilling on their way – the Soviets delivered the Allied prisoners they came across. Perhaps they were not as cooperative as they could have been, but then again they had to deal with millions of their own countrymen who were in a worse condition than any Allied POW. Regarding American POWs specifically, many were marched West by their German guards and were not far away from the advancing Americans when the Red Amy overtook them. Some 23,000 were exchanged directly between Soviet and American forces, those liberated further to the East, about 2,800, were repatriated via Odessa. On the 20th of April – a couple of weeks before Germany capitulated – the responsible American officer, Colonel Wilmeth, who was otherwise very critical of the Soviets, reported they had handed over all US ex-POWs except a few individual problematic cases (people too sick to be moved, men who wanted to take their Russian or Polish war brides with them, etc.)
The authors of “Beyond the Call” present a very different narrative. According to them, there was a “stalemate” and the American authorities decided to send in ONE MAN to save the POWs.
Because Captain America was otherwise occupied, they confided this mission to a battle-weary 25 year old bomber pilot, picked at random, who had never set foot in Russia or Eastern Europe, did not speak any of the relevant languages, and had no other relevant experience or qualifications whatsoever.
According to the authors, Trimble’s mission was “beyond top secret, and of such a diplomatic sensitivity that even the OSS could only be involved off the record.” (page 9). Meaning: dear readers, please do not expect us to provide any evidence for the wondrous tales we are about to relate.
Note also that the authors carefully avoid giving any info that might perhaps allow a critical reader to check anything. With regard to the secret mission, it’s always “an embassy official”, “an OSS agent”, “an Air Force general”, without any further identification. Even the people he “rescues” so dramatically are only identified by first names – and very few of those – making it impossible to check if maybe one or two have recorded their adventures somewhere and perhaps mentioned the gallant American captain who led them to freedom.
There’s just nothing about the whole “covert rescue mission” that sounds even halfway plausible. Time and again, Trimble shakes off his NKVD shadows, driver and interpreter – but without arising any suspicions, apparently – and disappears to find American POWs holed up in the woods somewhere.
You may well ask: how did he get around without a jeep and driver?
Oh well, he just took a taxi.
A TAXI??? In Lwów, Poland, in February/March 1945??? With a driver who was willing to drive an American officer in uniform around, at night, and did not think it necessary to report him to the Russians ???
Well … according to the authors Trimble Sr. was a “straight shooter”, so if he told his son he took a taxi we just have to believe it, don’t we?
You might also ask: how on earth did he know where to find these poor POWs hiding from the evil Russians?
Well … he regularly called the US embassy in Moscow, where OSS agents had lists, daily updated, of the occupants of every single farmhouse, barn and shed in Poland, with names, nationalities and last known occupations. Apparently.
Sorry if I’m beginning to sound a bit sarcastic, but it always irritates me when people try to peddle “true stories” on the assumption that readers are a bit dim-witted.
I don’t doubt that Trimble Sr. did a good job under difficult circumstances, but I don’t believe that job had anything to do with a “secret rescue mission”. I also don’t think his son has done his father’s memory any favours by trying to turn him into James Bond or the Scarlet Pimpernel. Of course it’s possible that he just faithfully recorded what his father told him, but even then he should have realized how utterly improbable it all was, especially in the absence of any evidence.
However, the way the authors cherry-pick historical evidence and documents to give some semblance of support to their story leads me to believe it is they who concocted the story, not Trimble Sr., may he rest in peace.
For those who are interested in what actually happened, this is an interesting document:
http://www.dod.gov/pubs/foi/Reading_R...
Other books on the subject:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/08...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/07...
The premise on which the whole story rests is demonstrably false. The preface claims that “Allied ex-prisoners (…) were left to wander, starving, sick and dying. Some were fired upon indiscriminately by Russian troops; some were robbed; many more were marched to the rear and abandoned. Even worse, hundreds were rounded up into camps where they were treated as potential spies or anti-Soviet partisans and kept in squalid conditions. Those who were able to went into hiding in the forest and abandoned farms …” etc., etc.
While none of these statements is 100% untrue, put together in this way they create a very distorted picture. As long as the British and Americans kept up their end of the bargain and repatriated Soviet citizens – which they did, even if in some cases it involved the use of rifle butts, bayonets and in some cases shooting to help the unwilling on their way – the Soviets delivered the Allied prisoners they came across. Perhaps they were not as cooperative as they could have been, but then again they had to deal with millions of their own countrymen who were in a worse condition than any Allied POW. Regarding American POWs specifically, many were marched West by their German guards and were not far away from the advancing Americans when the Red Amy overtook them. Some 23,000 were exchanged directly between Soviet and American forces, those liberated further to the East, about 2,800, were repatriated via Odessa. On the 20th of April – a couple of weeks before Germany capitulated – the responsible American officer, Colonel Wilmeth, who was otherwise very critical of the Soviets, reported they had handed over all US ex-POWs except a few individual problematic cases (people too sick to be moved, men who wanted to take their Russian or Polish war brides with them, etc.)
The authors of “Beyond the Call” present a very different narrative. According to them, there was a “stalemate” and the American authorities decided to send in ONE MAN to save the POWs.
Because Captain America was otherwise occupied, they confided this mission to a battle-weary 25 year old bomber pilot, picked at random, who had never set foot in Russia or Eastern Europe, did not speak any of the relevant languages, and had no other relevant experience or qualifications whatsoever.
According to the authors, Trimble’s mission was “beyond top secret, and of such a diplomatic sensitivity that even the OSS could only be involved off the record.” (page 9). Meaning: dear readers, please do not expect us to provide any evidence for the wondrous tales we are about to relate.
Note also that the authors carefully avoid giving any info that might perhaps allow a critical reader to check anything. With regard to the secret mission, it’s always “an embassy official”, “an OSS agent”, “an Air Force general”, without any further identification. Even the people he “rescues” so dramatically are only identified by first names – and very few of those – making it impossible to check if maybe one or two have recorded their adventures somewhere and perhaps mentioned the gallant American captain who led them to freedom.
There’s just nothing about the whole “covert rescue mission” that sounds even halfway plausible. Time and again, Trimble shakes off his NKVD shadows, driver and interpreter – but without arising any suspicions, apparently – and disappears to find American POWs holed up in the woods somewhere.
You may well ask: how did he get around without a jeep and driver?
Oh well, he just took a taxi.
A TAXI??? In Lwów, Poland, in February/March 1945??? With a driver who was willing to drive an American officer in uniform around, at night, and did not think it necessary to report him to the Russians ???
Well … according to the authors Trimble Sr. was a “straight shooter”, so if he told his son he took a taxi we just have to believe it, don’t we?
You might also ask: how on earth did he know where to find these poor POWs hiding from the evil Russians?
Well … he regularly called the US embassy in Moscow, where OSS agents had lists, daily updated, of the occupants of every single farmhouse, barn and shed in Poland, with names, nationalities and last known occupations. Apparently.
Sorry if I’m beginning to sound a bit sarcastic, but it always irritates me when people try to peddle “true stories” on the assumption that readers are a bit dim-witted.
I don’t doubt that Trimble Sr. did a good job under difficult circumstances, but I don’t believe that job had anything to do with a “secret rescue mission”. I also don’t think his son has done his father’s memory any favours by trying to turn him into James Bond or the Scarlet Pimpernel. Of course it’s possible that he just faithfully recorded what his father told him, but even then he should have realized how utterly improbable it all was, especially in the absence of any evidence.
However, the way the authors cherry-pick historical evidence and documents to give some semblance of support to their story leads me to believe it is they who concocted the story, not Trimble Sr., may he rest in peace.
For those who are interested in what actually happened, this is an interesting document:
http://www.dod.gov/pubs/foi/Reading_R...
Other books on the subject:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/08...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/07...
July 7, 2018
I’ve read reviews that blasted this book for its exclusion of precise names and detailed information, calling it implausible and fictitious. It is hard to grasp the entirety of the story, but it is also not impossible to imagine this historical narrative occurring.
Yes, it is the end-of-a-life recounting of a man’s harrowing and heroic life story in the military during WWII. Yes, it is told some 60 years after the incidents occurred while Captain Robert M. Trimble was in a nursing home. And yes, some of the details are foggy and incomplete. But none of these reasons make the story any less incredible, nor the man’s life any less heroic.
Captain Trimble’s son, Lee, is the author (or co-author) of this book. He spent three years (and several more years cross-checking facts, digging up documentation with the CIA, FBI, DOJ, and other agencies in an attempt to be accurate and authentic in writing) interviewing his father about his experiences during WWII after a brief mentioning of his father’s military service in Russia. This happened almost by accident, but I’m very thankful the story has been told. There is no telling how many stories like this are carried to the graves of men and women who lived out nearly superhuman episodes during our nation’s past battles and wars.
War stories are often untold. My father retired as a Major from the United States Army with 30 years of military service. He was a Marine in Vietnam in 1968-1969. As kids, my brother and I would beg him to share stories. He was always tight-lipped about his experiences. He was diagnosed with PTSD (as many veterans are) and re-lived apparent graphic nightmares from some of his experiences. He wanted nothing to do with sharing horror stories with his young sons. Did he experience hell? Most likely. Yet simply because he refused to share the many things he experienced and accomplished during his military experiences and long tenure in wars such as Vietnam and the Gulf War, does not - in any way - denounce the truth of his life.
I have read several documented articles about Captain Trimble to see if there was indeed validity to his stories. There is, and this includes medals from the French and Russian governments.
I believe this book to have quite a bit of fictionalized conversation and filler to help complete stories and feelings, but I believe the bulk of it is incredible and true. It’s a fine book and I’m thankful for people like Captain Trimble who were, and are still today, willing to sacrifice so much to fight for our freedoms, champion the oppressed, and help those in harm’s way. The man is an example of a great American who’s story is worthy of consideration and respect.
Yes, it is the end-of-a-life recounting of a man’s harrowing and heroic life story in the military during WWII. Yes, it is told some 60 years after the incidents occurred while Captain Robert M. Trimble was in a nursing home. And yes, some of the details are foggy and incomplete. But none of these reasons make the story any less incredible, nor the man’s life any less heroic.
Captain Trimble’s son, Lee, is the author (or co-author) of this book. He spent three years (and several more years cross-checking facts, digging up documentation with the CIA, FBI, DOJ, and other agencies in an attempt to be accurate and authentic in writing) interviewing his father about his experiences during WWII after a brief mentioning of his father’s military service in Russia. This happened almost by accident, but I’m very thankful the story has been told. There is no telling how many stories like this are carried to the graves of men and women who lived out nearly superhuman episodes during our nation’s past battles and wars.
War stories are often untold. My father retired as a Major from the United States Army with 30 years of military service. He was a Marine in Vietnam in 1968-1969. As kids, my brother and I would beg him to share stories. He was always tight-lipped about his experiences. He was diagnosed with PTSD (as many veterans are) and re-lived apparent graphic nightmares from some of his experiences. He wanted nothing to do with sharing horror stories with his young sons. Did he experience hell? Most likely. Yet simply because he refused to share the many things he experienced and accomplished during his military experiences and long tenure in wars such as Vietnam and the Gulf War, does not - in any way - denounce the truth of his life.
I have read several documented articles about Captain Trimble to see if there was indeed validity to his stories. There is, and this includes medals from the French and Russian governments.
I believe this book to have quite a bit of fictionalized conversation and filler to help complete stories and feelings, but I believe the bulk of it is incredible and true. It’s a fine book and I’m thankful for people like Captain Trimble who were, and are still today, willing to sacrifice so much to fight for our freedoms, champion the oppressed, and help those in harm’s way. The man is an example of a great American who’s story is worthy of consideration and respect.
October 24, 2019
A thrilling story of heroism during WW2. Obviously, being based on an oral recounting and documents more than half a century old, some of the recounting is embellishment, but having read stories of the horrible Soviet behavior towards POWs (especially their own countrymen and women) during Stalin's regime, I have no doubt the overall story is true. It's a fascinating look at a horrible time in world history, and one man's brave efforts to help so many people. It's a thrilling read, and one of many things that I've read that indicates we truly did make a deal with the devil by allying with Stalin to beat Hitler.
July 21, 2017
While the premise and writing are good overall, being someone who has studied WWII in many aspects over the years, I wanted to believe the story, but I could not bring myself to do so. In fact, there's several reasons that I just couldn't buy the whole thing:
1. It was allegedly this one man against the Soviet Union, in that the US was entrusting the entire POW rescue effort to one man. You'd think that they'd at least have a team of men working to rescue people.
2. For being a super secret, hush hush, off-the-books mission, Robert did a downright terrible job at being covert or quiet with regards to this tasking. At one point in the book, a reference is made to the fact that even wandering French women know of this American who'd rescue them and what hotel he was in??
3. He constantly laments having Soviet minders and tails follow him around, and yet he is able to shake all of them with ease, despite having absolutely no previous training?? Nope, not buying it. Also, for having so many random people come in from the fields to look for him, how are the Soviets not noticing this?
4. Robert somehow singlehandedly outwitted the Soviets who were on him night and day, and was able to rescue 400 French women. One thing of interest is how all of the chapters EXCEPT this one have footnotes. Not. A. Single. One. I also find it interesting how they're able to tell the stories of other people from their perspective, when this was so hush-hush.
5. What really made me roll my eyes when I was reading this book was in the final chapter of when Gen Spaatz allegedly approached Robert with another secret mission - this one was to fly the B-29 that would drop an atomic bomb on Japan. Yes, seriously. It makes no sense from a military and practicality standpoint to take someone from Russia, pull him out, send out to the Pacific, spend all the time and effort get him trained up on an airplane he's never flown before, and then entrust him with that mission.
1. It was allegedly this one man against the Soviet Union, in that the US was entrusting the entire POW rescue effort to one man. You'd think that they'd at least have a team of men working to rescue people.
2. For being a super secret, hush hush, off-the-books mission, Robert did a downright terrible job at being covert or quiet with regards to this tasking. At one point in the book, a reference is made to the fact that even wandering French women know of this American who'd rescue them and what hotel he was in??
3. He constantly laments having Soviet minders and tails follow him around, and yet he is able to shake all of them with ease, despite having absolutely no previous training?? Nope, not buying it. Also, for having so many random people come in from the fields to look for him, how are the Soviets not noticing this?
4. Robert somehow singlehandedly outwitted the Soviets who were on him night and day, and was able to rescue 400 French women. One thing of interest is how all of the chapters EXCEPT this one have footnotes. Not. A. Single. One. I also find it interesting how they're able to tell the stories of other people from their perspective, when this was so hush-hush.
5. What really made me roll my eyes when I was reading this book was in the final chapter of when Gen Spaatz allegedly approached Robert with another secret mission - this one was to fly the B-29 that would drop an atomic bomb on Japan. Yes, seriously. It makes no sense from a military and practicality standpoint to take someone from Russia, pull him out, send out to the Pacific, spend all the time and effort get him trained up on an airplane he's never flown before, and then entrust him with that mission.
January 5, 2020
“It was a horrific time of my life. I don’t know if I can talk about it even now. I saw atrocities. I saw the worst in people. I was deceived into going there—misled and lied to by my own people.” Robert Trimble
Another great story of the war behind the headlines of World War II. Gripping tale of a bomber pilot who volunteered for a mission then discovered he was actually sent to do another. Well told with sufficient background and detail to draw the reader in. I read it in less than two days. Maps and photographs document the story.
“They [the ex-POWs] heeded assistance, guidance, reassurance. Somebody need to be out there, helping to bring them to safety. Somebody was. One man was out there alone; one man whose sole purpose was to get the Americans home. And not just Americans: all the stray people from the free world were his concern.”
Unlike many Office of Strategic Service operatives, Captain Robert Trimble went into Poland with no training and only a flimsy cover story. He did that mission well, even as it swelled. That the Russians lied should surprise no one; that American diplomats and senior military contrived with them should sadden us all.
“It was to be a while … before Robert discovered the full extent to which both he and Colonel Helton had been lied to.”
Eventually he saved hundreds of Americans and allies—many of them slave labor civilians—but in the end was snubbed and discarded by his own leadership. As bad as the horrors of the Nazis were—and Trimble saw the death camps—what the Russians did to the Americans, Allies, Poles and even their own people staggers the imagination.
“Poltava Air Base looked like Hell with everyone out to lunch.”
While based on the author’s conversations with his father, internal evidence suggests this is more historical fiction than exact history. Undoubtedly this happened; the conversations and action occasionally seems contrived.
“Appeasement from weakness and fear is alike futile and fatal. Appeasement from strength is magnanimous and noble and might be the surest and perhaps only path to world peace.” Winston Churchill
Another great story of the war behind the headlines of World War II. Gripping tale of a bomber pilot who volunteered for a mission then discovered he was actually sent to do another. Well told with sufficient background and detail to draw the reader in. I read it in less than two days. Maps and photographs document the story.
“They [the ex-POWs] heeded assistance, guidance, reassurance. Somebody need to be out there, helping to bring them to safety. Somebody was. One man was out there alone; one man whose sole purpose was to get the Americans home. And not just Americans: all the stray people from the free world were his concern.”
Unlike many Office of Strategic Service operatives, Captain Robert Trimble went into Poland with no training and only a flimsy cover story. He did that mission well, even as it swelled. That the Russians lied should surprise no one; that American diplomats and senior military contrived with them should sadden us all.
“It was to be a while … before Robert discovered the full extent to which both he and Colonel Helton had been lied to.”
Eventually he saved hundreds of Americans and allies—many of them slave labor civilians—but in the end was snubbed and discarded by his own leadership. As bad as the horrors of the Nazis were—and Trimble saw the death camps—what the Russians did to the Americans, Allies, Poles and even their own people staggers the imagination.
“Poltava Air Base looked like Hell with everyone out to lunch.”
While based on the author’s conversations with his father, internal evidence suggests this is more historical fiction than exact history. Undoubtedly this happened; the conversations and action occasionally seems contrived.
“Appeasement from weakness and fear is alike futile and fatal. Appeasement from strength is magnanimous and noble and might be the surest and perhaps only path to world peace.” Winston Churchill
February 11, 2024
After piloting the requisite number of bombing runs over Europe (and surviving them), Captain Robert Trimble is given two options: take leave and probably be called back into action after a few weeks, or avoid additional combat by repairing and rescuing downed American planes in Soviet territory. Knowing his chances of survival were slim with the first option, he accepts the latter mission. What he does not know is that the directive is a cover. The Americans have the Soviet’s permission to salvage their plane wreckage, but what Robert is really doing is rescuing American POWs.
I was well aware that the Russian army was badly behaved, raping and pillaging their way west. But I had no idea how frustratingly defiant they were to their own allies. They flagrantly violated the terms of the Yalta Conference agreement that they would provide food and accommodations to Allied POWs. Instead, they left them to their own defenses, wandering the countryside of Poland, starving and destitute. It became Robert’s job to covertly rescue these men, but he ends up saving numerous others, too.
It's no wonder Robert was so disillusioned after his experiences in Poland. He witnessed Soviet atrocities first hand and his frustration and helplessness are understandable. The potential that Russia could be an enemy instead of an unreliable ally was serious and taken into consideration often. Therefore, the U.S.’s capitulation to the Soviets was incredibly shameful to Robert.
This starkly illustrated what was going on behind the Iron Curtain as Russia was Soviet-izing its conquered territories, even before the war was over. I’m appalled at how bad things were and what they got away with (and what we let them get away with).
Lee Trimble tells his father’s story with great compassion and pride, and I enjoyed how Robert was honored here.
I was well aware that the Russian army was badly behaved, raping and pillaging their way west. But I had no idea how frustratingly defiant they were to their own allies. They flagrantly violated the terms of the Yalta Conference agreement that they would provide food and accommodations to Allied POWs. Instead, they left them to their own defenses, wandering the countryside of Poland, starving and destitute. It became Robert’s job to covertly rescue these men, but he ends up saving numerous others, too.
It's no wonder Robert was so disillusioned after his experiences in Poland. He witnessed Soviet atrocities first hand and his frustration and helplessness are understandable. The potential that Russia could be an enemy instead of an unreliable ally was serious and taken into consideration often. Therefore, the U.S.’s capitulation to the Soviets was incredibly shameful to Robert.
This starkly illustrated what was going on behind the Iron Curtain as Russia was Soviet-izing its conquered territories, even before the war was over. I’m appalled at how bad things were and what they got away with (and what we let them get away with).
Lee Trimble tells his father’s story with great compassion and pride, and I enjoyed how Robert was honored here.
April 12, 2023
When you are going some place in an airplane, you know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach? That little knot as the plane is taxing down the runway? That is exactly what this book is like to read. It starts off with you getting you to the airport and waiting in your terminal. Next you are boarding he plane, finding your seat and getting comfortable. Then the plane starts its slow journey down the runway and then ascending towards the sky. That deep pit feeling hits your stomach. Tight knots and coils, so much information is being thrown at you. You don't know which way to look or turn the page to a new section. Finally you've reached the sky! You are flying! This is the rest of the book, easy peasy, everything levels out. Then you start falling. Crash landing back to earth. BAM! End of book. All metaphorically speaking of course.
May 30, 2025
Extremely moving story for anyone interested in WWII stories. It was one of the harder reads I’ve done in the past few years because you have to understand the geopolitical landscape of WWII to fully appreciate the story. The book was even more special because it was written by Captain Trimble’s son, and he came from the same roots in Southeastern PA. While not the easiest or most relaxed reading, the book was truly inspiring and highlights the ugliness of war through some of the incredible sacrifices made by Captain Trimble. His story truly lives up to the title because of his willingness to serve America beyond his calling to fly. Highly recommend to anyone interested in WWII narratives or military aviation.
July 19, 2017
Reads like fiction. Great story, great writing, one of the best books I've experienced. True story of an American hero. No spoilers, just read or better yet listen to it, if you like history, war, non-fiction, or even fiction.
April 3, 2022
Very fascinating story. Once again a unknown part of history during the end of World War 2 that I was not familiar with. The Soviet Union is an interesting country to say the least. So paranoid and strange. Pretty sad that they would not allow us to go help all the liberated POW’s at the end of the war. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was that I felt the overall message the author
(Son) wanted to get out there was that the USA lied to his father about what he was going to be doing instead of focusing on the amazing hero he was and how many people he helped liberate and save.
(Son) wanted to get out there was that the USA lied to his father about what he was going to be doing instead of focusing on the amazing hero he was and how many people he helped liberate and save.
August 20, 2017
I'm calling 'BOGUS!!' on this book. There's a note at the start of the book saying that we're supposed to trust the so called memory of this man despite the fact that there is no evidence that any of this actually happened. No other witnesses, none at all. Are they all dead? Are they just keeping a secret? No, there are no witnesses, no other participants interviewed, no hard evidence that a lot of this happened because there is no evidence that it did happen.
There are just too many inconsistencies for this to be believable. The basis of the book is that the Russians were hunting down US POWS and this guy was sent to save them. I've read enough actual 'History' of the time to know that this did not happen. Are there citations to back up the assertion? No, that's because it didn't happen! He takes a taxi as part of his harrowing escape? Ha! He doesn't even speak any Eastern European languages! Frequent calls to the US embassy in Moscow to get info on where the US POWS are hiding? Ok, sure, an embassy in a war zone is going to know where foreign soldiers are hiding! Are we to believe that this guy was also asked to take on another secret mission later in the war? Something having to do with dropping a secret bomb on Japan? No, we should not believe that, because it did not happen.
It's shameful that Berkley would publish this as a true story. This kind of thing is disrespectful to those who served. Berkley wasted a lot of paper on this claptrap. If this story must be published it should at least be called Fiction not History.
There are just too many inconsistencies for this to be believable. The basis of the book is that the Russians were hunting down US POWS and this guy was sent to save them. I've read enough actual 'History' of the time to know that this did not happen. Are there citations to back up the assertion? No, that's because it didn't happen! He takes a taxi as part of his harrowing escape? Ha! He doesn't even speak any Eastern European languages! Frequent calls to the US embassy in Moscow to get info on where the US POWS are hiding? Ok, sure, an embassy in a war zone is going to know where foreign soldiers are hiding! Are we to believe that this guy was also asked to take on another secret mission later in the war? Something having to do with dropping a secret bomb on Japan? No, we should not believe that, because it did not happen.
It's shameful that Berkley would publish this as a true story. This kind of thing is disrespectful to those who served. Berkley wasted a lot of paper on this claptrap. If this story must be published it should at least be called Fiction not History.
August 27, 2020
There are many improbabilities in this filial tribute of a son to his father, Robert M. Trimble, an Army Air Force pilot. The story is largely based on the father’s 2006 reminiscences, when he was 86 and had recently survived a fall at his retirement community. Unfortunately, paper documentation to confirm the stories is limited, a deficiency the authors have to wave away by portraying what occurred in Poltava, Ukraine, during the last months of World War II, as a super-secret mission.
I have no doubt that the Soviets were bad actors throughout the war and that countless atrocities occurred in the “bloodlands” as the Russians swept through them at its conclusion. I also believe Robert Trimble assisted some POWs and civilian refugees during the early months of 1945 when he was stationed in Poltava. But the notion that Trimble, a 25-year-old captain, a high school graduate who could speak no foreign languages, was chosen for a secret mission during which he was regularly able to outsmart a contingent of Russian secret police agents seems dubious at best.
Finally, although Trimble’s son brought in a professional writer to whip the reminiscences into publishable shape, he did not get his money’s worth. The book “reads like a novel” because Dronfield likes novelistic devices: goosed up, breathless prose, the overuse of foreshadowing, and the near constant ability of the authors to discern the innermost thoughts of the protagonist.
I have no doubt that the Soviets were bad actors throughout the war and that countless atrocities occurred in the “bloodlands” as the Russians swept through them at its conclusion. I also believe Robert Trimble assisted some POWs and civilian refugees during the early months of 1945 when he was stationed in Poltava. But the notion that Trimble, a 25-year-old captain, a high school graduate who could speak no foreign languages, was chosen for a secret mission during which he was regularly able to outsmart a contingent of Russian secret police agents seems dubious at best.
Finally, although Trimble’s son brought in a professional writer to whip the reminiscences into publishable shape, he did not get his money’s worth. The book “reads like a novel” because Dronfield likes novelistic devices: goosed up, breathless prose, the overuse of foreshadowing, and the near constant ability of the authors to discern the innermost thoughts of the protagonist.
October 18, 2017
Beyond the call is about a young American bomber pilot, named Robert M. Trimble. Robert was asked to go to Poland to find and recover downed U.S. aircraft, fix them and fly the planes back to a U.S. base in Poltava Poland. Repaired futher to be made recoverable and flown back to England to be recycled back in to the war. However, under this disguise, Robert's real task was to find captured U.S. prisoners of war and get them home. According to the authors, referencing documentation from escaped U.S. POWs, these allied prisoner of war, had been released and allowed to wonder to find their own way home. In fact, using actual documentation, the authors, lead us to believe, U.S. prisoners of war, where being dealt with in a cruel and savoury fashion. In some cases these allied troops were dying because of starvation, hypothermia and just plain neglect from the Russian troops. Main antagonist in this story is Stalin. He signed a declaration(The Malta Accord/Treaty), that said he (Stalin) would take care of the released allied prisoners and get them home. According to the authors, Stalin isn't living up to his end of the Malta Treaty. The resulting saga exposes the sham the Russians were perpetrating on the Allied governments. Stalin, according to the Malta treaty, was suppose to help Allied P.O.W's to get out of occupied territories, with out incident or casualties. According to the authors, this wasn't the case. In actual fact, the orders the Russian troops were given, was to kill any Russian prisoners of war. Stalin felt that these prisoners didn't die for the cause, so, therefore, are traitors. Stalin also didn't trust the British and the paranoia may have been another underlying cause and reason the Russian troops took such a lackadaisical attitude towards evacuation of allied troops.
I found the story to be written in that not-so-polished-style, almost amateurish. Some of the details seemed outlandish. One would have to wonder how an American pilot could maintain his secretive, surreptitious role, prancing around occupied Poland, under the watchful eye of the NKVD and not getting caught. Some of the details, around the evacuation of allied troops, lacked detail; however, one still has to surmise that Robert was either really good at being a spy, or very lucky. Because moving large numbers of troops under the watchful eye of Russian followers, under the guise of retrieving downed U.S. aircraft behind Russian lines, seems hard to believe. The Russians were good at tailing people. This is how they keep people in line in Russia. They were a polished spy organization. Robert had little or no training.
The Germans had an insurmountable amount of work to be done. They were, as you might know, trying to take over the world. That is no easy feat. Workers were needed, slave labour. One such group that were used as paid/slave labour were French women. These women were asked to help the cause. They had little or no choice in the matter. So it really wasn’t voluntary. These French women were sent to different areas of step region to help in the construction of different projects the Nazis had dreamt up. At the end of the war these French women escaped their work camps find their own way home. It was one of these ladies that Robert Trimble remembered. Her name was Isabella and she was trying to evacuate some 400 other women who were looking for a ride home. Robert in some miraculous way got them home. The story seemed a little light on details and some what dubious. Lets say it really did happen, why didn't Isabella, try and find Robert and thank him for saving their lives. The alternative, for these women, other that getting home, was to work in the Gulag for Stalin. This would surely have been a death sentence, if Robert hadn't of gotten sent home. Now Robert did get the French Croix de Guerre with silver star for his heroism. So I would imagine some of what Robert said had some value. The French don’t hand these metals out for doing nothing. That being said, in Robert Trimble's defence, it was late in his life that he recalled these events and the mind has tendency, as it gets older, to alter some of the facts. So, maybe Isabella did exist, just not in that exact frame of reference it really happened.
Over all the book was a good read. I give it 3.5 not 4. Its worth the read for the historical element and the premise of the theme. Beyond the call is about a young American bomber pilot, named Robert M. Trimble. Robert was asked to go to Poland to find and recover downed U.S. aircraft fix and fly them to a U.S. base in Poltava Poland to be fixed and flown back to England to be recycled back in to the war. However, under this disguise, Robert's real task was to find captured U.S. prisoners of war and get them home. According to the authors, referencing documentation from escaped U.S. POWs, had been released and allowed to wonder to find their own way home. Main antagonist in this story is Stalin. He signed a declaration(The Malta Accord/Treaty), that said he (Stalin) would take care of the released allied prisoners and get them home. According to the authors, Stalin isn't living up to his end of the Malta Treaty. The resulting saga exposes the sham the Russians were perpetrating on the Allied governments. Stalin, according to the Malta treaty, was suppose to help Allied P.O.W's to get out of occupied territories, with out incident or casualties. According to the authors, this wasn't the case. In actual fact, the orders the Russian troops were given was to kill any Russian prisoners of war. Stalin felt that these prisoners didn't die for the cause, so, therefore, are traitors. The authors gave the impression this may have been the reason for the Russian troops taking the lackadaisical attitude towards care and evacuation of allied troops transportation hubs to get them home. In fact, using actual documentation, brings us to believe, U.S. prisoners of war, where being dealt with in a cruel and hap hazard fashion. In some case where dying because of starvation, hypothermia and just plain neglect from the Russian troops.
I found the story to be written in that not-so-polished-style, almost amateurish. Some of the details seemed outlandish. One would have to wonder how an American pilot could stay in a secretive role, prancing around occupied Poland, under the watchful eye of the NKVD and not get caught. Some of the details, around the evacuation of allied troops, lacked detail; however, one still has to surmise that Robert was either really good at being a spy, or very lucky. Because moving large numbers of troops under the watchful eye of Russian followers, under the guise of retrieving downed U.S. aircraft behind Russian lines, seems hard to believe. The Russians were good at tailing people. This is how they keep people in line in Russia. They were a polished spy organization. Robert had little or no training.
The Germans had an insurmountable amount of work to be done. They were, as you might know trying to take over the world. That is no easy feat. Workers were needed, slave labour. One such group that were used as paid/slave labour were the French women who were sent to different areas of step region to help in the construction of different projects the Nazis had dreamt up. At the end of the war these French women were set free to find their own way home. In some cases, according the authors, the ladies were being used for other nefarious duties and some of it was life threatening. It was one of the ladies that Robert Trimble remember; Isabella, who had 400 other women who were looking for a ride home. Robert in some miraculous way got them home. The story around this seemed a little light on details and some what dubious. Lets say it really did happen, why didn't the French women he saved try and find him and thank him for saving their lives. The alternative, would have been work camps in the Gulog for Stalin, if Robert hadn't of gotten sent home. So the story had it moments of arguable sections. That being said, it Robert Trimble's defence, it was late in his life that he recalled these events and the mind has tendency to alter some of the facts. So, maybe Isabella did exist, just not in that exact frame of reference.
Over all the book was a good read. I give it 3.5 not 4. Its worth the read for the historical element and the premise of the theme.
I found the story to be written in that not-so-polished-style, almost amateurish. Some of the details seemed outlandish. One would have to wonder how an American pilot could maintain his secretive, surreptitious role, prancing around occupied Poland, under the watchful eye of the NKVD and not getting caught. Some of the details, around the evacuation of allied troops, lacked detail; however, one still has to surmise that Robert was either really good at being a spy, or very lucky. Because moving large numbers of troops under the watchful eye of Russian followers, under the guise of retrieving downed U.S. aircraft behind Russian lines, seems hard to believe. The Russians were good at tailing people. This is how they keep people in line in Russia. They were a polished spy organization. Robert had little or no training.
The Germans had an insurmountable amount of work to be done. They were, as you might know, trying to take over the world. That is no easy feat. Workers were needed, slave labour. One such group that were used as paid/slave labour were French women. These women were asked to help the cause. They had little or no choice in the matter. So it really wasn’t voluntary. These French women were sent to different areas of step region to help in the construction of different projects the Nazis had dreamt up. At the end of the war these French women escaped their work camps find their own way home. It was one of these ladies that Robert Trimble remembered. Her name was Isabella and she was trying to evacuate some 400 other women who were looking for a ride home. Robert in some miraculous way got them home. The story seemed a little light on details and some what dubious. Lets say it really did happen, why didn't Isabella, try and find Robert and thank him for saving their lives. The alternative, for these women, other that getting home, was to work in the Gulag for Stalin. This would surely have been a death sentence, if Robert hadn't of gotten sent home. Now Robert did get the French Croix de Guerre with silver star for his heroism. So I would imagine some of what Robert said had some value. The French don’t hand these metals out for doing nothing. That being said, in Robert Trimble's defence, it was late in his life that he recalled these events and the mind has tendency, as it gets older, to alter some of the facts. So, maybe Isabella did exist, just not in that exact frame of reference it really happened.
Over all the book was a good read. I give it 3.5 not 4. Its worth the read for the historical element and the premise of the theme. Beyond the call is about a young American bomber pilot, named Robert M. Trimble. Robert was asked to go to Poland to find and recover downed U.S. aircraft fix and fly them to a U.S. base in Poltava Poland to be fixed and flown back to England to be recycled back in to the war. However, under this disguise, Robert's real task was to find captured U.S. prisoners of war and get them home. According to the authors, referencing documentation from escaped U.S. POWs, had been released and allowed to wonder to find their own way home. Main antagonist in this story is Stalin. He signed a declaration(The Malta Accord/Treaty), that said he (Stalin) would take care of the released allied prisoners and get them home. According to the authors, Stalin isn't living up to his end of the Malta Treaty. The resulting saga exposes the sham the Russians were perpetrating on the Allied governments. Stalin, according to the Malta treaty, was suppose to help Allied P.O.W's to get out of occupied territories, with out incident or casualties. According to the authors, this wasn't the case. In actual fact, the orders the Russian troops were given was to kill any Russian prisoners of war. Stalin felt that these prisoners didn't die for the cause, so, therefore, are traitors. The authors gave the impression this may have been the reason for the Russian troops taking the lackadaisical attitude towards care and evacuation of allied troops transportation hubs to get them home. In fact, using actual documentation, brings us to believe, U.S. prisoners of war, where being dealt with in a cruel and hap hazard fashion. In some case where dying because of starvation, hypothermia and just plain neglect from the Russian troops.
I found the story to be written in that not-so-polished-style, almost amateurish. Some of the details seemed outlandish. One would have to wonder how an American pilot could stay in a secretive role, prancing around occupied Poland, under the watchful eye of the NKVD and not get caught. Some of the details, around the evacuation of allied troops, lacked detail; however, one still has to surmise that Robert was either really good at being a spy, or very lucky. Because moving large numbers of troops under the watchful eye of Russian followers, under the guise of retrieving downed U.S. aircraft behind Russian lines, seems hard to believe. The Russians were good at tailing people. This is how they keep people in line in Russia. They were a polished spy organization. Robert had little or no training.
The Germans had an insurmountable amount of work to be done. They were, as you might know trying to take over the world. That is no easy feat. Workers were needed, slave labour. One such group that were used as paid/slave labour were the French women who were sent to different areas of step region to help in the construction of different projects the Nazis had dreamt up. At the end of the war these French women were set free to find their own way home. In some cases, according the authors, the ladies were being used for other nefarious duties and some of it was life threatening. It was one of the ladies that Robert Trimble remember; Isabella, who had 400 other women who were looking for a ride home. Robert in some miraculous way got them home. The story around this seemed a little light on details and some what dubious. Lets say it really did happen, why didn't the French women he saved try and find him and thank him for saving their lives. The alternative, would have been work camps in the Gulog for Stalin, if Robert hadn't of gotten sent home. So the story had it moments of arguable sections. That being said, it Robert Trimble's defence, it was late in his life that he recalled these events and the mind has tendency to alter some of the facts. So, maybe Isabella did exist, just not in that exact frame of reference.
Over all the book was a good read. I give it 3.5 not 4. Its worth the read for the historical element and the premise of the theme.
August 12, 2015
What we never knew. A B-17 Pilot tasked with getting ex-POWs recently liberated from the Nazi prison camps away from the Russians. We were Allies? The pilot worked under the disguise of repairing planes shot down in Poland, to find the American ex-POWs wandering the woods, trying to keep from the Russians. He also rescued people fleeing the Russians from other counries. Politics interfered and lives were lost to the Russians. The pilot came home a broken man from the atrocities he had witnessed.
July 3, 2017
The cat-and-mouse games between supposed allies (often with hundreds - if not thousands - of those caught in the middle) are expertly detailed in this thrilling page-turner. Suspense, the horrors of war, political games, and going above and beyond the call of duty - it's all here.
September 6, 2017
Great story that touches on a forgotten part of war and the souring of relationships between the USSR and the US as the war came to an end. Many people forget about the POW's or imagine that once the war is over, the POW's are sent back home no problem. This is a great tale of how war is not always so cut and dry, and that the Soviets were an ally out of convenience rather than out of mutal respect for the two countries. Fantastic read and great storytelling.
June 28, 2016
I learned a lot about the situation in Europe after the war was over. I didn't realize the treatment and release of POW s was so difficult. This man was a true hero in the assignments he was given. I would have given 5 stars but it a little too technical for me about war details in some chapters. Overall a well written book that kept my interest.
February 10, 2017
A truly remarkable book about a genuine American hero of the type that I fear is all-but-gone and an account of the treacherous barbarity of the Soviet empire and our ostensible ally in the closing months of World War II. I would love to see a faithful movie adaptation of this book made, stirring and very moving stuff. Highly recommended.
August 10, 2015
I couldn't get past the first 16 pages. This may be an incredible story but the writing is abysmally amateurish. It claims to be history but reads like a dimestore novel.
Would have love to read it but I treasure my time. Moved on to Truman by David McCullough.
Would have love to read it but I treasure my time. Moved on to Truman by David McCullough.
Want to read
April 18, 201517 APR 2015 - recommended by Ethan. Many thanks, Ethan.
August 10, 2017
This was a powerful story and a unique view into the horrors of war and the things we take for granted.
Read
November 3, 2020Book Review: Beyond The Call
This courageous book called Beyond The Call by Lee Trimble and Jeremy Dronfield is the true story of a World War ll pilot’s mission to rescue POWs (Prisoners of War) on the Eastern Front. The pilot’s name was Captain Robert Trimble, a captain in the United States Air Force who was also a Veteran 8th Air Force bomber. In this time period of when this story takes place the Red Army (Russian army) is advancing into Poland which is Nazi-controlled territory. As the Red Army is advancing, Nazi prison camps are being liberated. But with defiance of agreements between the allied forces Russia and the United States, Russia freed the allied prisoners and let them go without aid or protection. The Red Army would let the prisoners out of the camps and would leave them defenseless and without guidance. The Red Army would do this because of their strong belief that all POWs were cowards and that refugees could be spies. And specifically for captured Red army soldiers if they were found still alive the soldier would be killed and the family would go to prison for treason against the country. This goes to the argument that even though we had allies during WWll does not mean that agreements between allied countries were upheld. The main example in the book is the agreements between the United State and Russia. Russia first agreed that they would help all United States POW but this was not being upheld as many POWs were being left to survive on their own and no aid to get back to their countries of origin. This brought the story back to Robert Trimble, the United States air force captain, and after his 35 mission tour, he was chosen by the OSS. His mission was to take American POWs from the Red Army controlled areas back to the United States. Throughout the story, the Captain faced Russian forces limiting his access to areas controlled by Russia, allowed limited supplies such as planes and air clearance, and always had Rusian police looking over his shoulder and tracking everything he does and everywhere he goes. As Russia was not upholding the agreement with the U.S., more and more POWs were stranded. But as the Story went on he did not only help rescue U.S. forces but also French POWs. Captain Trimble did this while undermining the Soviet Union which could have killed him. Overall the author’s objective was to give powerful insights on what was really happening on the other side of the allied force’s borders, specifically Russia during the war. After Studying World War ll multiple times throughout my school career I have never learned about what happened to allied prisoners of war after they were liberated. As before, I always thought they were given aid and taken back to their country of origin, but as this may have happened in some cases this was not always the case as this book describes. Nevertheless, I would rate this book a 10/10 and would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of WWll or just wants to read a heart-touching war story.
This courageous book called Beyond The Call by Lee Trimble and Jeremy Dronfield is the true story of a World War ll pilot’s mission to rescue POWs (Prisoners of War) on the Eastern Front. The pilot’s name was Captain Robert Trimble, a captain in the United States Air Force who was also a Veteran 8th Air Force bomber. In this time period of when this story takes place the Red Army (Russian army) is advancing into Poland which is Nazi-controlled territory. As the Red Army is advancing, Nazi prison camps are being liberated. But with defiance of agreements between the allied forces Russia and the United States, Russia freed the allied prisoners and let them go without aid or protection. The Red Army would let the prisoners out of the camps and would leave them defenseless and without guidance. The Red Army would do this because of their strong belief that all POWs were cowards and that refugees could be spies. And specifically for captured Red army soldiers if they were found still alive the soldier would be killed and the family would go to prison for treason against the country. This goes to the argument that even though we had allies during WWll does not mean that agreements between allied countries were upheld. The main example in the book is the agreements between the United State and Russia. Russia first agreed that they would help all United States POW but this was not being upheld as many POWs were being left to survive on their own and no aid to get back to their countries of origin. This brought the story back to Robert Trimble, the United States air force captain, and after his 35 mission tour, he was chosen by the OSS. His mission was to take American POWs from the Red Army controlled areas back to the United States. Throughout the story, the Captain faced Russian forces limiting his access to areas controlled by Russia, allowed limited supplies such as planes and air clearance, and always had Rusian police looking over his shoulder and tracking everything he does and everywhere he goes. As Russia was not upholding the agreement with the U.S., more and more POWs were stranded. But as the Story went on he did not only help rescue U.S. forces but also French POWs. Captain Trimble did this while undermining the Soviet Union which could have killed him. Overall the author’s objective was to give powerful insights on what was really happening on the other side of the allied force’s borders, specifically Russia during the war. After Studying World War ll multiple times throughout my school career I have never learned about what happened to allied prisoners of war after they were liberated. As before, I always thought they were given aid and taken back to their country of origin, but as this may have happened in some cases this was not always the case as this book describes. Nevertheless, I would rate this book a 10/10 and would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of WWll or just wants to read a heart-touching war story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2017
Check https://adgoodbooksreview.blogspot.co... for more details
Review:
Not a very well-known episode of the Second World War about the American Air Base in Poltava, Ukraine. It was provided to the US Army Air Forces in February 1944 and operated till June 1945. Its original purpose was to for shuttle bombing missions, however it was mainly used for recovery of the American planes that crash-landed in Poland, to be repaired in-situ and transported to Poltava for their return to service.
The story is based on memories of one of the Poltava airmen – Robert Trimble. Having finished his tour of duty as a bomber-pilot in Italy he was asked to serve in Poltava to help fly any damaged American planes found in Poland. Having experienced all the obstacles imposed by the Russian authorities and discovering the real situation in Poland, which turned out to be occupied by the Russians, he started helping all the discovered American and British pilots who went into hiding in Poland when they had been forced to land there, as the Russians often treated them as spies or at least as suspicious characters. He also helped a number of POWs who had escaped from the numerous German camps. His main help was to provide them with a train tickets to Odessa, where they were taken up by the British or American ships waiting there. He also got involved in helping 480 French women, who had been taken by the Germans, to return home. For this he got help from the Polish railway men and hired the separate train to pick the women in the forest. All those women were hiding from the Russians to avoid any further misery from their hands. All those activities were never properly recognised by the American government, and Robert Trimble’s promotion from captain to major never happened. The only recognition came from the French government for the rescue of the French women.
This is the only book I’ve come across that clearly spells out that Poland was sacrificed by the American and English. Having helped Stalin to overcome Hitler with their land-lease help they should have prevented him from gobbling up more than half of the Polish territory and installing the communist government for the next forty-five years.
It is a riveting read and thoroughly recommended. However, it appears that not all the facts provided there are fully explained, which may doubt the full veracity of the account, therefore four stars only.
Review:
Not a very well-known episode of the Second World War about the American Air Base in Poltava, Ukraine. It was provided to the US Army Air Forces in February 1944 and operated till June 1945. Its original purpose was to for shuttle bombing missions, however it was mainly used for recovery of the American planes that crash-landed in Poland, to be repaired in-situ and transported to Poltava for their return to service.
The story is based on memories of one of the Poltava airmen – Robert Trimble. Having finished his tour of duty as a bomber-pilot in Italy he was asked to serve in Poltava to help fly any damaged American planes found in Poland. Having experienced all the obstacles imposed by the Russian authorities and discovering the real situation in Poland, which turned out to be occupied by the Russians, he started helping all the discovered American and British pilots who went into hiding in Poland when they had been forced to land there, as the Russians often treated them as spies or at least as suspicious characters. He also helped a number of POWs who had escaped from the numerous German camps. His main help was to provide them with a train tickets to Odessa, where they were taken up by the British or American ships waiting there. He also got involved in helping 480 French women, who had been taken by the Germans, to return home. For this he got help from the Polish railway men and hired the separate train to pick the women in the forest. All those women were hiding from the Russians to avoid any further misery from their hands. All those activities were never properly recognised by the American government, and Robert Trimble’s promotion from captain to major never happened. The only recognition came from the French government for the rescue of the French women.
This is the only book I’ve come across that clearly spells out that Poland was sacrificed by the American and English. Having helped Stalin to overcome Hitler with their land-lease help they should have prevented him from gobbling up more than half of the Polish territory and installing the communist government for the next forty-five years.
It is a riveting read and thoroughly recommended. However, it appears that not all the facts provided there are fully explained, which may doubt the full veracity of the account, therefore four stars only.
January 31, 2018
A tough story of one man’s heroism in the face of constant danger, in the final months of the war. The first review lays out the plot well.
As the book opens, Capt. Robert Trimble, an admirable young American pilot has just completed 35 bombing missions over Germany, and is looking forward to reuniting with to his wife and young daughter in Pennsylvania. He is induced by his superiors to accept what is appears to be a safe assignment ferrying American bombers ... but which, in truth, is the harrowing task of recovering downed American B-17 bombers and their crews, in Poland and the Ukraine.
From the beginning, Trimble and his team are shadowed by Russian NKVD spies, and his requests for assistance and permission to travel to the designated sites are officially rebuffed by a maddening Russian policy and its apparatchiki.
Despite these frightening odds, Capt. Trimble’s natural sense of humanity impels him to shake off Soviet surveillance and interference, and to launch his own private campaign to save the lives of recently liberated allied POWs and in one particularly memorable instance, several hundred French civilian laborers.
The story is filled with examples of ordinary people demonstrating extraordinary courage — notable among them, peasants who shelter downed crews at the very real risk of repression by Soviet patrols.
In the end, I was left with a bad taste by several accounts of official American appeasement of the ruthless Soviet policy toward ex-POWs (cowards, by Stalin’s decree). In the end, his mission behind him, Trimble — refusing to back down from his principles and proven courage in the face of Soviet bullying — is made an example of, by cowardly brass back in Washington.
This book revived an interest in the fate of the many lost souls — British, American, German and otherwise — who disappeared behind the Iron Curtain, presumably into the Siberian gulag, and were never heard from again. Anecdotally, sightings were made as late as the Vietnam War. (The Soviet Union supported North Vietnam.)
For further reading, in the context of American civilians sent to the gulag in Stalin’s nightmarish 1930s, I recommend “Out of the Ice” by Victor Hermann and “Dancing under a Red Star.” These were also gripping, and disturbing.
As the book opens, Capt. Robert Trimble, an admirable young American pilot has just completed 35 bombing missions over Germany, and is looking forward to reuniting with to his wife and young daughter in Pennsylvania. He is induced by his superiors to accept what is appears to be a safe assignment ferrying American bombers ... but which, in truth, is the harrowing task of recovering downed American B-17 bombers and their crews, in Poland and the Ukraine.
From the beginning, Trimble and his team are shadowed by Russian NKVD spies, and his requests for assistance and permission to travel to the designated sites are officially rebuffed by a maddening Russian policy and its apparatchiki.
Despite these frightening odds, Capt. Trimble’s natural sense of humanity impels him to shake off Soviet surveillance and interference, and to launch his own private campaign to save the lives of recently liberated allied POWs and in one particularly memorable instance, several hundred French civilian laborers.
The story is filled with examples of ordinary people demonstrating extraordinary courage — notable among them, peasants who shelter downed crews at the very real risk of repression by Soviet patrols.
In the end, I was left with a bad taste by several accounts of official American appeasement of the ruthless Soviet policy toward ex-POWs (cowards, by Stalin’s decree). In the end, his mission behind him, Trimble — refusing to back down from his principles and proven courage in the face of Soviet bullying — is made an example of, by cowardly brass back in Washington.
This book revived an interest in the fate of the many lost souls — British, American, German and otherwise — who disappeared behind the Iron Curtain, presumably into the Siberian gulag, and were never heard from again. Anecdotally, sightings were made as late as the Vietnam War. (The Soviet Union supported North Vietnam.)
For further reading, in the context of American civilians sent to the gulag in Stalin’s nightmarish 1930s, I recommend “Out of the Ice” by Victor Hermann and “Dancing under a Red Star.” These were also gripping, and disturbing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2021
Lee Trimble recounts the fascinating story of his father's service with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Soviet Union during the final months of the Second World War. Few people know about the American attempts to establish an air base in the Ukraine to enable bomber pilots operating from far away England and Italy to target vital Nazi industries in Eastern Europe. Although the shuttle bombing campaign never really got off the ground (due to Soviet intransigence), the American air base at Poltava was able to receive and service U.S. bombers that had been badly shot up and could not make the return trip to Western Europe. Even fewer people know that U.S. POWs in Nazi camps in Poland and eastern Germany were left to fend for themselves once they had been 'liberated' by Red Army forces moving westward into Germany. Trimble's father Capt. Robert Trimble, a decorated B-17 pilot with 35 combat missions under his belt, was transferred to the U.S. base at Poltava to ostensibly help repatriate downed pilots. But in fact, he was also tasked by the OSS to locate freed U.S. POWs and to effect their transfer to Odessa on the Black Sea and then onwards by ship to the U.K. Robert's job was daunting in face of the sheer callousness, indifference, and sometimes outright murderous actions of America's Soviet 'Allies.' Trimble eventually took it upon himself to help rescue other foreign nationals such as British POWs and French laborers, who had been forced to work in war factories in Germany. Robert's generous and brave personality eventually got him into hot water with the Soviets and even his own leadership. Trimble witnessed the worst atrocities carried out by both our German foes and our Soviet allies. What he saw scarred him for the rest of his days. Only in his final months of life was he able to communicate to his children all that he saw. We are all the richer for his having done so. This story opens an amazing chapter of the history of the war that very few people have been privy to know of.
August 8, 2018
BEYOND THE CALL
A loving and honest tribute written by a son about his father, BEYOND THE CALL is the unknown story of Captain Robert Trimble, an Army Air Force pilot who, after flying thirty-five combat missions, was asked to take on an almost impossible mission in the closing months of World War II: to bring American POW’s home from Soviet-occupied Poland. Thousands of POW’s had been liberated by the Red Army but then had to fend for themselves with no resources at hand. Indeed, the attitude of the Russians concerning prisoners of war, from Josef Stalin on down, was contempt. Russian POW’s faced the strong probability of execution; other Allied POW’s faced death by starvation and exposure. Trimble’s covert mission was to find these POW’s and get them to an American base called Potlava. This was to be done without the knowledge of the Russians and even most of the American brass.
Robert Trimble is not thought of as an American hero. In the annals of war, he is probably not thought of at all, but it is likely that hundreds if not thousands of men and women are alive today because of his action from February-April 1945.
I have read quite a number of books about war. Those who read this review on GOODREADS can look up my READ list and see the titles. I had never read anything about this before; it is a story worth telling.
In reflecting back on this book and on the other books I’ve read about war, I recall a statement made by the fictional Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce, a.k.a Hawkeye on the television show MASH. During a scene in the operating room Major Frank Burns, quoting General William T. Sherman, said,
“Everyone knows that war is hell.”
Hawkeye responded,
“War is war and hell is hell and, of the two, war is a lot worse.”
Hawkeye went on to say that in war there are many innocent victims. We read about some of them in this book.
Four stars
A loving and honest tribute written by a son about his father, BEYOND THE CALL is the unknown story of Captain Robert Trimble, an Army Air Force pilot who, after flying thirty-five combat missions, was asked to take on an almost impossible mission in the closing months of World War II: to bring American POW’s home from Soviet-occupied Poland. Thousands of POW’s had been liberated by the Red Army but then had to fend for themselves with no resources at hand. Indeed, the attitude of the Russians concerning prisoners of war, from Josef Stalin on down, was contempt. Russian POW’s faced the strong probability of execution; other Allied POW’s faced death by starvation and exposure. Trimble’s covert mission was to find these POW’s and get them to an American base called Potlava. This was to be done without the knowledge of the Russians and even most of the American brass.
Robert Trimble is not thought of as an American hero. In the annals of war, he is probably not thought of at all, but it is likely that hundreds if not thousands of men and women are alive today because of his action from February-April 1945.
I have read quite a number of books about war. Those who read this review on GOODREADS can look up my READ list and see the titles. I had never read anything about this before; it is a story worth telling.
In reflecting back on this book and on the other books I’ve read about war, I recall a statement made by the fictional Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce, a.k.a Hawkeye on the television show MASH. During a scene in the operating room Major Frank Burns, quoting General William T. Sherman, said,
“Everyone knows that war is hell.”
Hawkeye responded,
“War is war and hell is hell and, of the two, war is a lot worse.”
Hawkeye went on to say that in war there are many innocent victims. We read about some of them in this book.
Four stars
November 21, 2019
Originally picking up the book because I thought it was purely a chronicle of a U.S. pilot's experience serving at the back end of World War II, I soon discovered this book was a gripping account of the airman's conversion into a secret savior, charged with finding ways to help remove Allied POW's from a Poland being seized and secured by the "liberating" Soviets who entered it and wanted the country for itself. Written by the protagonist's son, this book surprised, startled, and moved me in its descriptions of war-end Eastern Europe, Russia's treatment of Allied (and Russian) prisoners of war, and the activities of a small American unit operating in Poland trying to save some, as many as possible, of the innumerable P.O.W.s and refugees displaced and hiding there because of the war. Not only is the journey that Captain Trimble is thrown into both harrowing and uncomfortable, but within its short arc in the story, we come to learn about a conflicted young man who nevertheless strives to be good and humane to those he is trying to find and save in the world that has gone crazy around him. I felt the story was well-written, and fairly treated by a son that certainly must have swelled with admiration (fairly so) when, late in his life his father revealed details from this hidden period in his past. Parts of this book, as found in all objective attempts to convey realities in war, were hard to read, but in view of what Captain Trimble achieved in helping to save many lives, the uncomfortable experiences Trimball went through to complete his mission help us to see why his accomplishments were remarkable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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