Author : Michel Paradis
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 480 pages
File Size : 22,42 MB
Release : 2021-06-08
Category : History
ISBN : 150110473X
A narrative account of the Doolittle Raids of World War II traces the daring Raiders attack on mainland Japan, the fate of the crews who survived the mission, and the international war crimes trials that defined Japanese-American relations and changed legal history.
Author : Bill Boyce
Publisher : Bright Sky Publishing
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 28,87 MB
Release : 2015
Category : Aircraft accidents
ISBN : 9781931721110
"When you were growing up, did you ever wonder why your father was the way he was? Did you ever take time to discover what he had been through? Bill Boyce did. In Miss Fortune's Last Mission he shares his search to discover how WWII affected his dad--and the extended family created from one plane's crew"--Publisher summary.
Author : Harry Mazer
Publisher : Laurel Leaf
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 43,10 MB
Release : 2008-12-30
Category : Young Adult Fiction
ISBN : 0307536602
In 1944, as World War II is raging across Europe, fifteen-year-old Jack Raab dreams of being a hero. Leaving New York City, his family, and his boyhood behind, Jack uses a false I.D. and lies his way into the U.S. Air Force. From their base in England, he and his crew fly twenty-four treacherous bombing missions over occupied Europe. The war is almost over and Hitler near defeat when they fly their last mission -- a mission destined for disaster. Shot down far behind enemy lines, Jack is taken prisoner and sent to a German POW camp, where his experiences are more terrifying than anything he'd ever imagined.
Author : Jim Smith
Publisher : Crown
Page : 373 pages
File Size : 38,71 MB
Release : 2007-12-18
Category : History
ISBN : 0307419479
A gripping account of the final American bombing mission of World War II and how it prevented a military coup that would have kept Japan in the war. How close did the Japanese come to not surrendering to Allied forces on August 15, 1945? The Last Mission explores this question through two previously neglected strands of late—World War II history, whose very interconnections could have caused a harrowing shift in the course of the postwar world. On the final night of the war, as Emperor Hirohito recorded a message of surrender for the Japanese people, a band of Japanese rebels, commanded by War Minister Anami's elite staff, burst into the palace. They had plotted a massive coup that aimed to destroy the recordings of the Imperial Rescript of surrender and issue false orders forged with the Emperor’s seal commanding the widely dispersed Japanese military to continue the war. If this rebellion had succeeded, the military would have proceeded with large-scale kamikaze attacks on Allied forces, costing huge casualties and just possibly provoking the Americans to drop a third atomic bomb on Japan over Tokyo–and continue to drop more bombs as Japanese resistance stiffened. Meanwhile, in the midst of an “end-of-war” celebration on Guam, Air Force radio operator Jim Smith and his fellow crewmen received urgent orders for a bombing mission over Japan’s sole remaining oil refinery north of Tokyo. As a stream of American B-29B bombers approached Tokyo, Japanese air defenses, fearing the approaching planes signaled the threat of a third atomic bomb, ordered a total blackout in Tokyo and the Imperial Palace, completely disrupting the rebels’ plans. Smith and his fellow crewmembers completed the mission, and a few hours later, the Emperor announced the surrender over Japan’s airwaves, dictating the end of the war. The Last Mission is an insightful piece of speculative investigation that combines narrative storytelling with historical contingency and explores how two seemingly unrelated events could have profoundly changed the course of modern history.
Author : John J. Ryan
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 525 pages
File Size : 23,81 MB
Release : 2011-04-20
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1450286607
It is one thing to study history and its quite another to have lived it. John J. (Pat) Ryan, a retired USAF lieutenant colonel has done just that. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1920, he grew up during the Great Depression. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Pat applied for and was accepted into the U.S. Army Aviation Cadet program. To fly had been his lifelong dream and WWII gave him his chance to make it come true. He was one of the blessed ones that survived combat in WWII, the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, and the Berlin Airlift. His story starts at a time when aircraft and autos were scarce, family radios and television were non-existent, movies were silent and in black and white. During the Great Depression many families had to learn to do more with less to survive. For some people, WWII created jobs in both civilian and military areas. The fortunate ones were those who survived and didnt lose too many family members and friends. Pat was one of the lucky ones. It was in Japan on loan to the CIA where he met his wife-to-be, Mae, during the Korean War. She had been in the OSS in Italy in WWII and at the post-war Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. They had started to write a book of their lives but Mae was stricken with terminal cancer and passed away only five days after she gave final approval to her publisher. The book is entitled A Woman Ahead of Her Time. The Last Mission completes the dream Ryan shared with his wife, and it brings home the lessons of war and humanity, of responsibility and faith, of family and love. Come fly as his co-pilot through a life of adventures, struggles, victories and defeats as he tries to live his life as truly, honestly and fully as any man can.
Author : Malcolm McConnell
Publisher : Graymalkin Media
Page : 528 pages
File Size : 10,96 MB
Release : 2024-04-29
Category : History
ISBN : 1631684140
How close did the Japanese come to not surrendering to Allied forces on August 15, 1945? The Last Mission explores this question through two previously neglected strands of late—World War II history, whose very interconnections could have caused a harrowing shift in the course of the postwar world. On the final night of the war, as Emperor Hirohito recorded a message of surrender for the Japanese people, a band of Japanese rebels, commanded by War Minister Anami's elite staff, burst into the palace. They had plotted a massive coup that aimed to destroy the recordings of the Imperial Rescript of surrender and issue false orders forged with the Emperor’s seal commanding the widely dispersed Japanese military to continue the war. If this rebellion had succeeded, the military would have proceeded with large-scale kamikaze attacks on Allied forces, costing huge casualties and just possibly provoking the Americans to drop a third atomic bomb on Japan over Tokyo–and continue to drop more bombs as Japanese resistance stiffened.
Author : Lisa Westwood
Publisher :
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 35,81 MB
Release : 2018-01-30
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780813064741
The world will always remember Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin for their first steps on the moon, yet few today hold in respect the sites that made these and other astronauts' journeys possible. Across the American landscape and on the lunar surface, many facilities and landing sites linked to the Apollo program remain unprotected. Some have already crumbled to ruins--silent and abandoned. The Final Mission explores these key locations, reframes the footprints and items left on the moon as cultural resources, and calls for the urgent preservation of this space heritage. Beginning with the initiation of the space race, the authors trace the history of research, training, and manufacturing centers that contributed to lunar exploration. From the early rocket test stands of Robert H. Goddard, to astronaut instruction at Meteor Crater, to human and primate experiments at Holloman Air Force Base, innumerable places proved critical to developing the equipment for exploring space, surviving the journey, and returning to Earth safely. Despite their significance to the history of human spaceflight, many landmarks face the threat of damage or destruction. Most alarming is that the rapid advancement of technology renders stations obsolete long before they are deemed worthy of preservation. Moreover, the lack of precedence for protecting off-planet artifacts poses a unique challenge for space archaeology. While NASA's 2011 recommendations for spacefarers suggest avoiding close proximity to this cultural landscape, the authors advocate stronger routes of preservation and present models for safeguarding space history--both on Earth's surface and beyond.
Author : Gene Spencer
Publisher : WestBowPress
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 42,41 MB
Release : 2013-12-31
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1490818898
The greatest generation was a hardworking, strong, loving people wanting what is now called the American Dream. Each would be propelled from their neighborhoods and slow-moving communities, a safe haven that cloaked them and held them securely, into a world war of destruction and death on December 7, 1941. America had been awakened; Americans, a year earlier, saw and understood the evil destined for this country was now killing other peoples of the world. These were to become a volunteer group of Americans assembled by two countries, America and China, to be the first to defend an innocent people. Today they are known as the famed AVG or American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers. Their story is as vast as the war itself; it touched those it affected with death and destruction as it consumed everything in its path. Within the pages of this book, the story of one pilot and one nurse will be revealed, from when they volunteer, meet, fall in love, and marry while defending and saving the babies, the parents, the citizens of China and Burma. Pete and Jane maintained their beliefs of duty and honor and sacrifice while they endured the horrors of war. Finding security in each others arms and a new spirit of love with each kiss, keeping them hopeful the war would end soon.
Author : Ed Darack
Publisher : Smithsonian Institution
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 14,64 MB
Release : 2017-09-19
Category : History
ISBN : 1588345904
On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter approached a landing zone in Afghanistan 40 miles southwest of Kabul. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. It would never return. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of its rear rotor blades, and brought it crashing to the ground. All 38 onboard perished instantly in the single greatest moment of sacrifice for Americans in the war in Afghanistan. Those killed were some of the U.S.'s most highly trained and battle-honed commandos, including 15 men from the Gold Squadron of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known popularly as SEAL Team 6, which had raided a Pakistan compound and killed Osama bin Laden just three months earlier. The downing of Extortion 17 spurred a number of conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the shootdown was revenge for bin Laden's death. In The Final Mission of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 and the events of that fateful day is interwoven into a rich, complex narrative that also discusses modern joint combat operations, the history of the Afghan war to that date, U.S. helicopter use in Afghanistan, and the new and evolving military technologies and tactics being developed to mitigate such tragedies now and in the future. Amazon Best History Book of the Month - September 2017
Author : Joseph M Scalia
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 17,54 MB
Release : 2009-03-01
Category : History
ISBN : 1612515258
When U-234 slipped out of a Norwegian harbor in March 1945 destined for Japan, it was loaded with some of the most technically advanced weaponry and electronic detection devices of the era, along with a select group of officials. En route, word came that Germany had surrendered, and the boat's commander suddenly found himself with a rogue submarine, a precious assortment of cargo, and two Japanese naval officers still at war. This dramatic account of the voyage offers an intriguing look at the individuals involved. One of these individuals was Luftwaffe General Ulrich Kessler, who was a member of Von Stauffeberg's Valkyrie conspiracy to assassinate of Hitler. Kessler was aboard U-234 to escape the wrath of Hitler, because he had been tabbed by Von Stauffeberg to replace Hermann Goering as the commander of the Luftwaffe. Scalia draws on U.S. Navy interrogation records, European and Japanese archives, and interviews with former U-234 crew members and other principals to develop a full portrait of the group. He also evaluates the technology of the armament on board, which included 560 kg. of uranium oxide, whose presence continues to provoke questions about a Nazi plan to build an atom bomb in Japan.
