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

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Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
2018
Language:
English
Description
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. In 1944, George Starks was just a nineteen-year-old kid from Florida when he and his high school buddies enlisted in the US military. They wanted to join the action of WWII. George was assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group-in which the median age was 22-and on his crew's first bombing mission together received the most vulnerable spot of a B-17 mission configuration: low squadron, low group, flying #6 in the bomber box formation. Airmen called George's position the "Coffin Corner" because here exposure was most likely to draw hostile fire. Sure enough, George's plane was shot down by a German Fw190, and he jumped at 25,000 feet for the "first and only time," as he tells the story. He landed near Vitry-le-Perthois to begin a 300-mile trek through the dangers of war-torn France towards the freedom of neutral Switzerland. Through waist-deep snow, seering exhaustion, and close encounters with Nazis, George repeated to himself the mantra "just one more day." He battled to keep walking. His comrades were scattered all across Europe and experienced places as formidable as German POW camps and as hospitable as Spain, each crew member always wondering about the fate of the others. After the war, George made two vows: he would never lose touch with his men again and one day would attempt to thank those who had risked their lives to save his. Despite passage of time and demands of career and family, he accomplished both. He reunited with his crew then twenty-five years later returned to France to locate as many of the brave souls who had helped him evade the enemy as he could. Join George as he retraces his steps to freedom and discover the amazing stories of sacrifice and survival and how ten young American boys plus their French Helpers became heroes.
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ISBN:
9781621576266
9781538437247
9781982406998
9781621576556
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work IDb0718be4-56e3-1461-0790-12baed24a667
Grouping Titlecoffin corner boys one bomber ten men and their harrowing escape from nazi occupied france
Grouping Authorcarole engle avriett
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-04-20 02:11:00AM
Last Indexed2024-04-20 02:22:14AM

Solr Fields

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auth_author2
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Starks, George W.
author
Avriett, Carole Engle
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display_description
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. In 1944, George Starks was just a nineteen-year-old kid from Florida when he and his high school buddies enlisted in the US military. They wanted to join the action of WWII. George was assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group-in which the median age was 22-and on his crew's first bombing mission together received the most vulnerable spot of a B-17 mission configuration: low squadron, low group, flying #6 in the bomber box formation. Airmen called George's position the "Coffin Corner" because here exposure was most likely to draw hostile fire. Sure enough, George's plane was shot down by a German Fw190, and he jumped at 25,000 feet for the "first and only time," as he tells the story. He landed near Vitry-le-Perthois to begin a 300-mile trek through the dangers of war-torn France towards the freedom of neutral Switzerland. Through waist-deep snow, seering exhaustion, and close encounters with Nazis, George repeated to himself the mantra "just one more day." He battled to keep walking. His comrades were scattered all across Europe and experienced places as formidable as German POW camps and as hospitable as Spain, each crew member always wondering about the fate of the others. After the war, George made two vows: he would never lose touch with his men again and one day would attempt to thank those who had risked their lives to save his. Despite passage of time and demands of career and family, he accomplished both. He reunited with his crew then twenty-five years later returned to France to locate as many of the brave souls who had helped him evade the enemy as he could. Join George as he retraces his steps to freedom and discover the amazing stories of sacrifice and survival and how ten young American boys plus their French Helpers became heroes.
format_catalog
Book
eAudiobook
eBook
format_category_catalog
Audio Books
Books
eBook
id
b0718be4-56e3-1461-0790-12baed24a667
isbn
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9781621576266
9781621576556
9781982406998
itype_catalog
Adult Book Non-Fiction
last_indexed
2024-04-20T09:22:14.295Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_catalog
940.544973 A963 2018
owning_library_catalog
Sacramento Public Library
owning_location_catalog
Arden-Dimick
Carmichael
Central
Franklin
North Highlands-Antelope
Pocket-Greenhaven
primary_isbn
9781621576266
publishDate
2018
publisher
Blackstone Publishing
Regnery History
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Autobiography
Bomber pilots -- United States -- Biography
Electronic books
Escapes -- France -- History -- 20th century
History
Military
Starks, George W
United States. -- Army Air Forces. -- Air Force, 8th
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
title_display
Coffin corner boys : one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France
title_full
Coffin Corner Boys : One Bomber, Ten Men, and Their Harrowing Escape from Nazi-Occupied France [electronic resource] / Carole Engle Avriett
Coffin Corner Boys : one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France [electronic resource] / Captain George W. Starks and Carole Engle Avriett
Coffin Corner Boys One Bomber, Ten Men, and Their Harrowing Escape from Nazi-Occupied France
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 eigth ; foreword by Lt. Gen. E.G. "Buck" Shuler, Jr., former commander eighth Air Force
title_short
Coffin corner boys
title_sub
one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France
topic_facet
Aerial operations, American
Autobiography
Biography & Autobiography
Bomber pilots
Campaigns
Electronic books
Escapes
History
Military
Nonfiction
Starks, George W
World War, 1939-1945

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