Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
For the men of the Army Air Corps in early World War II, the chance of surviving the obligatory twenty-five missions without death, injury, or imprisonment was one in three. In this groundbreaking book, Rob Morris has sought out remarkable but little-known stories of the air war from the men who lived and fought it.
Based on hundreds of interviews with American veterans and their families, Untold Valor illuminates the courage of airmen whose exploits have until now remained untold. Read about Jewish aviators’ experiences as POWs in German camps. Learn about American airmen who were imprisoned, even killed, by the neutral Swiss and about two Air Corps enlisted men who changed U.S. policy toward liberated concentration camp survivors. Also discover the unusual story of Luftwaffe commander Herman Goering’s nephew, who flew B-17 missions against Germany. While some of the stories cover major events, most are about incidents and individuals misrepresented or overlooked by history books. Yet their efforts were vital, their lives forever changed.
Detailed and moving, Untold Valor is certain to interest the serious air historian and the casual reader alike. With a foreword by the editor of B–17s Over Berlin.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Great Moving Account
Customer Rating:
As another reviewer mentioned, the ranks of WWII veterans are quickly diminishing, so it is great to see a book like this that keeps their heroic exploits alive. For another right-there, in-person account, I recommend WALKING THROUGH FIRE: AN IWO JIMA SURVIVOR'S REMEMBRANCE, which tells not only of the horrifying time on that island but also elsewhere during the War in the Pacific. Walking Through Fire, An Iwo Jima Survivor's Remembrance
Important stories, poorly written
Customer Rating:
These are great stories, some of which have never been told before, and indeed some of the stories only developed fully in the last few years. The author deserves high praise for digging them out and bringing them to print. It is a difficult book to read, however, because the writing is amateurish, clumsy, and redundant. It was poorly edited, and at times appears that it was not edited at all. (How long would it take to verify the spelling of Strayer College?) The stories seem to be in random sequence and to have been developed independently of one another, which adds to the redundancy. Some facts about survival rates are repeated more than a dozen times in the course of the book.
Well worth reading, despite all this. Not enough has been said about Switzerland and the war, the strategic bombing decisions, the Allied treatment of displaced persons after the war, Jewish airmen, and other topics.
About everything but bomber crews
Customer Rating:
Three chapters in, I'm still wondering when we're going to get to the bomber crews. It's a mishmash of stories, subjectively told. More history, less hoo-rah. I won't be adding it to my shelf of WWII aviation.
Valor Untold No Longer.
Customer Rating:
History can be found both in volumes upon shelves and in the hearts of those who witnessed it. Rob Morris has managed to organize a meeting between the two through his tremendous book, "Untold Valor".
With a style underpinned by sincerity, Rob has managed to grasp and share some amazing tales from those who dared take to the hostile skies over Europe. Yet their tales and survival are not confined to the stratosphere. A fact that Morris effectively relates through the accounts of those confined and no longer able to take to the skies.
I highly recommend this book for not only those who study history, but for those who seek further insight into the human spirit. Thanks to Rob Morris, these stories of valor are no longer untold.
Owen Zupp- Author "Down to Earth"
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Stories we need to know
Customer Rating:
There are so many stories of World War II that we need to know to remember the sacrifices our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers made to keep us free that I want to thank Rob for bringing some of them to light.