Coffin corner boys : one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France /

Avriett, Carole Engle,

Coffin corner boys : one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France / Carole Engle Avriett with Capt. George W. Starks, WWII B-17 Pilot, the Mighty Eighth ; foreword by Lt. Gen. E.G. "Buck" Shuler, Jr., former Commander Eighth Air Force. - xxi, 266 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-261) and index.

Part I. Beginnings -- Reconnecting: the "search" trip -- Beginning at sixteen -- Only one jump...ever -- Part II. The crew and first days down -- A whistle signal -- Betrayed by the gendarmes -- "Are you Hebrew?" -- Cognac and eggs -- Meeting up with buddies -- Meeting in a shack -- A casket and a bicycle -- Part III. The helpers and the enemy -- Processing in Frankfurt am Main -- Living with the Videls -- "Get the hell out of here" -- Sitting around a French fireplace -- An engineer's home, a dress shop, and a root cellar -- A squeaky wheel -- Life in Stalag Luft III -- 11, Rue de Saussaies, Gestapo Headquarters, Paris -- Fresnes Prison, Paris -- Dulag Luft and the Forty-and-Eights -- Stalag Luft IV, deeper into Germany -- Angels watching over -- Troop train and a brave man -- The captain -- "Frisco" -- The theater and the stress of POW camp -- One more day -- Steaming clothes on a stove -- The chief of police and Giselle -- A train full of Germans -- Maurice Baverel, a spy for all seasons -- Dr. Charlin and the five-horsepower Peugeot -- Part IV. The final push out -- Worsening conditions -- The black death march -- A small miracle -- Swiss surprise -- Enough of Switzerland -- Rowboat ride at midnight -- Part V. Going home -- George Starks and the Green Hornet -- Irv Baum and Ted Badder -- Dick Morse -- Bill Wyatt with Don Edgerly and Bob Williams -- Andy Brenden with Wally Trinder -- Dale Beery and William Wallace -- Part VI. Finding old friends -- Reconnecting, 1969 -- On to Pontarlier -- The Boillots and Dr. Charlin -- Back with Mike, 1970 -- More visits with friends -- Reunion with the crew -- Epilogue: one more time to France.

As a young band of brothers flies over German-occupied France, they come under heavy fire. Their B-17 is shot down and the airmen--stumbling through fields and villages--scatter across Europe. Some struggled to flee for safety. Others were captured immediately and imprisoned. Now, for the first time, their incredible story of grit, survival, and reunion is told.

9781621576266 1621576264

Regnery Pub, C/O Two Rivers Distribution 210 American Dr, Jackson, TN, USA, 38301-5070 SAN 631-760X

2017034247


Starks, George W.


United States. Army Air Forces. Air Force, 8th.


World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Western Front.
Escapes--History--France--20th century.
Bomber pilots--United States--Biography.


Personal narratives.

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