The War in the Air Volume III

The Things Our Fathers Saw #3

by Matthew A. Rozell

[THE NEWER, LONGER, 2ND EDITION OF THIS BOOK IS THE 2020 EDITION TITLED "The Things Our Fathers Saw—The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation-Volume 3: War in the Air—Combat, Captivity, and Reunion".  WHAT DO YOU FILL YOUR POCKETS WITH when you're rousted awake in the middle of a freezing German night to be death-marched across Germany?  WHEN YOUR BUDDY STAGGERS AND FALLS by the side of the road, and no longer even knows who you are, do you keep moving to keep yourself alive? — "The next day we marched almost twenty hours, so now we were coming up to a town, now everybody is falling over, but I was in a group where everybody made a pledge to watch each other. I found myself off the side of the road and I lay in the snow and I said to myself, 'Wow, this is so warm.' I was so damn cold, I didn't know my name or anything, or where I lived—I was gone!" —B-24 bombardier, shot down, taken prisoner Dying for freedom isn't the worst that could happen. Being forgotten is.— "We got shot down around noontime by a Messerschmitt. I was in the top turret shooting at them, and I could see [their faces] as clearly as I'm looking at you. They wiped us out completely. I'm following him with the top turret gun and you could see bits of the plane coming off his tail section, but not enough to bother him. As I'm turning, the electrical cord on my flying suit got caught underneath the swivel of the turret. I ducked down, I untangled it... now I got back into my turret. Fellas, the turret wasn't there anymore. That son-of-a-gun who had been eyeing me came in and he hit his 20mm gun, took the top of that Plexiglas and tore it right off! The fighters made another pass. They hit a couple of our engines; they made another pass and they shot away our controls! We peeled off into one of these spirals—you've seen them on television where the plane will come over on its back and just spiral into the ground. Trees are coming up at me; I had my hand on the ripcord and out I went, headfirst." —B-17 engineerMaybe our veterans did not volunteer to tell us their stories; perhaps we were too busy with our own lives to ask. But they opened up to a younger generation, when a history teacher taught his students to engage.— "I was standing on the train in Paris right next to an SS colonel—he had a satchel handcuffed to his arm, and a guard with a Sten gun. The train started up, and the SS colonel bumped into me. And he turned around to me and said, 'Pardonne moi.' I thought, 'Oh, my God!'" —B-17 crewman/evadee, shot down on his first mission As we forge ahead as a nation, do we owe it to ourselves to become reacquainted with a generation that is fast leaving us, who asked for nothing but gave everything, to attune ourselves as Americans to a broader appreciation of what we stand for?This is the third book in the masterful WWII oral history series, but you can read them in any order.— "What made me cry was this is a guy from Texas, and even if he didn't like blacks, or he didn't like Jews, or Catholics, or whoever, no German was going to tell him what to do—no general was pushing him around! He says, 'We are Americans in this camp, and we are all the same.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War II, Military History, War

226 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2017

Reviews

[Jim]

Went into this book not expecting much and loved it. The stories of each individual and their job/speciality in aircraft was informative especially to a former airman who sat at a typewriter all day. I will read each of Matthew Rozell''s books.

[Terry Pray]

Stories told by those who lived it

I have read many, many books on world war II and prefer the earliest printings I can find because subsequent printings often include edits can, and often do, change the original perspective of the author. Then I stumbled on the first book in this series and found exactly what I've been looking for: stories from the fighting men themselves. Preserving the oral history from those who are leaving us at a rapid pace for future generations it's a wonderful endeavor! I am very thankful for Mr. Rozell's project, and thank all his students that participated in gathering the interviews with the WWII veterans. I've read all three volumes that are out now and am looking forward to the next release in a few months. These are a must read, and I hope someone else will pick up on the concept and start interviewing veterans in their own area.

[D. E.]

A MR. Military Aviation Action Review of Air Combat Stories of WW II (TTOFS) (TUSOT WWII- V3)

MR. has penned the third volume if World War II Air Combat stories and the pilots who flew them. MR. has interviewed manu WW II air combat veterans. The first fighter pilots, bomber pilots, crew members, POW's, and he Tuskegee Airmen. Their stories of air combat cannot be matched by any other events in history. I have read many WW II book's of history, but one is quite close. The Tuskegee Airmen. When the Air Combat and History "Walk of Fame" dedicated the plaque to the Tuskegee Airmen I met those still alive. I was in awe standing in their presence as was my father, himself a WW II Naval Air Combat veteran, a flying Chief. He had come to visit and had completed two tours of EDW Air Force Base and Museum. At the dining in that evening the officers and some enlisted that were combat veterans themselves celebrated the deaths and lives of those living. One of my personal friends, an SR - 71 pilot was a keynote speaker as was General Yeager. It was a night reserved for those who had done so much for our country and lived to tell about it. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Davina]

Second book I've read in this series. He does a great job with his interviews. Some have been done by his high school students, and are also excellent. These aren't comprehensive histories, but snippets and memories. He has selected these to try and draw a picture of what it was like, and, by chance perhaps, was able to give a pretty broad picture, with men serving in different units and different times, including a "Red Tail" Tuskegee airman. I'll be moving on to his first book, and look forward to future volumes.

[Nancy]

All these books have been interesting despite the fact that we have done a lot of WWII reading already. This writer focuses primarily on the stories of surviving veterans and they tell their stories. Since both of our fathers had WWII experiences and we are docents on a WWII museum cargo ship, we have read a number of WWII narratives and facts. These books are interesting because we get the stories of "ordinary" people who lived through these events. We are currently reading Volume IV.

[Mike Austin]

I am now on volume IV of this great series. Although my war was Vietnam, I have enjoyed reading what my father experienced in the Pacific. He was an F6F Hellcat pilot off the Ticonderoga and survived her dual kamikaze hit. I am a Kindle person and avid reader. Now, at 81, I have to have a spreadsheet of the books I have read on my cell phone, alphabetized by author and date so I don't buy duplicates.

[Brian Hooten]

Awesome Read

I've read three of the books and each have been awesome reads so far. They are stories if not taken time by the author and his students to share with us would be forgotten forever. The great Veterans who were interviewed have all passed in the past couple of years and with them their stories. Thanks for sharing them here Mr. Rozell

[James Thomas]

This is the five-star rating system I use:

★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.

If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.

[Jane Thompson]

World War II Story

Interesting book, because it tells the story of the war in the words of the men who fought it. This book is about the air war--there are several books in the series. The men tell their stories and also reveal their feelings.

[Joyce A. Wendeln]

They Saw It But

We didn't get much of a description of it. You would think that lose lips were still sinking ships at this late date. I have read much better books about the Tuskegee Airmen.

[Judy Marshall]

The voices of men who fought and faced death during WWII. I am sure it wasn't easy for these men to tell their story. Very thought-provoking personal accounts that told me what my father who served in the Pacific would not.

[james blanchard]

Great job to walk us through the Air War, captivity and rescue!!

A must read for all generations of free Americans!! The reader is taken inside the thoughts and prayers of the airmen of the war.

[mark cheesman]

I really enjoyed reading the series, its first hand accounts from the men that were there. I wish there were more stories from the GI's. Great read well done!

[Lara]

Great read

Five stars, very good information about the past that we need to keep alive for future generations least we forget

[sally reid]

Americans who cared

What these flight crews did for the love of their country is amazing to me!! If only current Americans felt the same now.

[Mary Kirby]

Very good

I enjoy the books that are eye witnesses to events and retell their stories. Mr. Rowell does a good job of getting these men to tell their stories .

[leonard r. verhulst]

Good read

Love reading about our heroes in World War Two Could not imagine being in their shoes. Amazing men and women.

[Kenneth W Ortensie]

Old Airman never die

I will soon start volume IV, and I cannot wait to read it. I love to read the stories of these brave men.

[Robert Byers]

Great read and stories in their words

Mathew To sell does a great job keeping all of the stories divided into parts that bring these words together. These fine men do the rest!

[Matt]

Another captivating edition to the airmen of WW2 with interviews from a Tuskegee airman, and German POWs who were shot down. Every story is just so interesting and engaging.

[Tyler James]

I am really enjoying this series so far. It is amazing reading first hand stories from WWII by the heroes who experienced it. I purchased the 10 book set and can't wait to move on to book number 4.

[John Life]

A great read from the point of view from the veterans of WWII in the air. Especially reading and getting an understanding on the treatment of the PoWs.

[Tony Garcia]

4.25

[Stephen Minnis]

Again a different view and bringing the scope and tragedy of WW2 into better perspective for me.

[Rick Smith]

My second one of these books, this one focused on pilots (many of them POWs) in the European Theatre. Surprised by the different treatment afforded those in Europe -- the POW stories from Japan were frightening, compared to the generally "humane" treatment of those in Europe. There were several stories of parachuting out of planes and barely surviving crashes, only to make it back to base and do it again. These two books have truly, truly opened my eyes to the heroism displayed by The Greatest Generation.