True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II
Jay Stout
6 x 9, 320 pages, 32pp photos, 9781612002095,
$32.95,
hardback,
Casemate
September 27, 2013
English
The nearly half-million American aircrewmen who served during World War II have almost disappeared. And so have their stories.
Award-winning
writer and former fighter pilot Jay A. Stout uses Unsung Eagles to save
an exciting collection of those accounts from oblivion. These are not
rehashed tales from the hoary icons of the war. Rather, they are
stories from the masses of largely unrecognized men who—in the
aggregate—actually won it. They are the recollections of your Uncle
Frank who shared them only after having enjoyed a beer or nine, and of
your old girlfriend’s grandfather who passed away about the same time
she dumped you. And of the craggy guy who ran the town’s salvage yard; a
dusty, fly-specked B-24 model hung over the counter. These are
“everyman” accounts that are important but fast disappearing.
Ray
Crandall describes how he was nearly knocked into the Pacific by a
heavy cruiser’s main battery during the Second Battle of the Philippine
Sea. Jesse Barker—a displaced dive-bomber pilot—tells of dodging naval
bombardments in the stinking mud of Guadalcanal. Bob Popeney relates
how his friend and fellow A-20 pilot was blown out of formation by
German antiaircraft fire: “I could see the inside of the airplane—and I
could see Nordstrom's eyes. He looked confused…and then immediately he
flipped up and went tumbling down.”
The combat careers of 22
different pilots from all the services are captured in this crisply
written book which captivates the reader not only as an engaging oral
history, but also puts personal context into the great air battles of
World War II.
Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Jay Stout is a former Marine
Corps fighter pilot who flew F-4 Phantoms and F/A-18 Hornets during a
military career from 1981 to 2001. A graduate of Purdue University, he
has also written FORTRESS PLOESTI, FIGHTER GROUP and THE MEN WHO KILLED
THE LUFTWAFFE .
Reviews
Jay Stout writes smart, interesting
books because he's always on the lookout for interesting people to
interview, and he always asks them interesting and unusual questions
born of his own curiosity. Unsung Eagles is smart, interesting, well
written and pleasantly unusual. It will take you off the beaten track,
ERIC HAMMEL, AUTHOR OF ACES AGAINST JAPAN , 2013-08-13
"Finally, a serious aviation
historian has written an exciting book about the unheralded heroes who
fought World War II from the sky. This book--in which the veterans tell
their own stories--is a long overdue tribute. Most highly
recommended."
BOB "PUNCHY" POWELL, WORLD WAR II FIGHTER PILOT AND AUTHOR OF, THE BLUE NOSED BASTARDS OF BODNEY , 2013-08-13
Through the recollections of
airmen whose deeds were largely unrecognized, Jay Stout--a veteran
fighter pilot himself--gives the reader a real understanding of who
these men were and what they did in answer to their nation's call
TOM IVIE, AUTHOR OF PATTON'S EYES IN THE SKY, AND 352ND FIGHTER GROUP
, 2013-08-13
"Jay Stout has written one
of the finest tributes to the fighting men of the greatest generation,
concentrating not on the famous aces whose actions are well known, but
on the “ordinary man” who rose to greatness when the situation demanded
it. The author’s deep research and innate writing ability merge to make
this book a must for every aviation library."
WALTER BOYNE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL AIR &
SPACE MUSEUM OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR,
2013-08-13
“Unsung Eagles offers a rare
cockpit perspective of World War II in the air. Jay Stout’s anthology
features an extraordinary variety of accounts from airmen--many now
deceased—that will become more valuable as the generation that fought
the greatest air campaigns of all time continues to depart the pattern.”
BARRETT TILLMAN, AUTHOR OF WHIRLWIND: THE AIR WAR AGAINST JAPAN, 1942-1945 , 2013-08-20
An incredible work that
captures the true voices of America's World War II flyers before they
are gone forever. Stout—through the eyes of these unsung
eagles—gracefully navigates us through stormy skies and whirling
dogfights in a way that is enthralling, heartbreaking, and sometimes
funny but never boring."
MICHAEL FRANZAK, AUTHOR OF A NIGHTMARE'S PRAYER: A MARINE HARRIER PILOT'S WAR IN AFGHANISTAN , 2013-08-20
...crisply written book. It is an engaging history that gives a personal context to the great air battles of Of World War II.
