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307th Bombardment Group (Heavy)—Resources
307th Bombardment Group Related Books
A number of books were written about the 307th Bomb Group. The books listed below can be found on Amazon.com and many other online and in-person books stores. Unfortunately, a number of books about the 307th Bomb Group are now out of print; however, the books can be located from time-to-time on online book stores and eBay.com. Here are the titles of some of the 307th BG books that are now out of print:
Email additional 307th BG titles to: pat@307bg.org
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307th Bomb Group Book—The Spectator : A World War II Bomber Pilot's Journal of the Artist as Warrior
From Greenwich Village to Guadalcanal in just over a year, David Zellmer would find piloting a B-24 bomber in the South Pacific a far cry from his life as a fledgling member of the Martha Graham Dance Company. He soon discovered the unimagined thrills of first flights and the astonishment of learning that an aerial spin was merely a vertical pirouette which one spotted on a barn thousands of feet below, instead of on a doorknob in Martha's studio. Reconstructed from letters home, this captivating account traces Zellmer's journey from New York to the islands of the South Pacific as the 13th Air Force battled to push back the Japanese invaders in 1943 and 1944. |
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307th Bomb Group Book—Morotai: A Memoir of War
According to the official histories, says John Boeman, the U.S. Army trained 193,440 pilots between 1 July 1939 and 31 August 1945. Boeman was one of them -- a B-24 bomber pilot.
He had never been in an airplane, had never felt himself "born to fly," and felt "no sudden surge of patriotism." But from the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he says there was no question in his mind that he would enter military service. President Roosevelt's blueprint for total war made this clear.
Boeman's memoir takes the reader from flight training through combat missions.
The day-to-day life of inexperienced Boeman and his crew, as part of the 307th Bombardment Group, is detailed with humor and pathos -- the apprehension of his first mission; the long hours on the ground; the remembrances of "growing up"; the excitement, the "ice" in the stomach, or the unexpected.
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307th Bomb Group Book—Devil at My Heels: A WW II Hero's Epic Saga of Torment, Survival, and Forgiveness
A juvenile delinquent, a world-class NCAA miler, a 1936 Olympian, a World War II bombardier: Louis Zamperini had a life fuller than most when it changed in an instant. On May 27, 1943, his B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louis and two other survivors found a raft amid the flaming wreckage and waited for rescue. Instead, they drifted two thousand miles for forty-seven days. Their only food: two shark livers and three raw albatross. Their only water: sporadic rainfall. Their only companions: hope and faith -- and the ever-present sharks. Somehow Zamperini survived and he returned home a hero. The celebration was short-lived. He plunged into drinking and brawling and the depths of rage and despair. Nightly, the Bird's face leered at him in his dreams. It would take years, but with the love of his wife and the power of faith, he was able to stop the nightmares and the drinking.
A stirring memoir from one of the greatest of the "Greatest Generation," Devil at My Heels is a living document about the brutality of war, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the power of forgiveness.
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Other Books, DVD's we Recommend:
The following books can be found on Amazon.com and many other online and in-person books stores. Although the following books are not directly about the 307th BG, we highly recommend them. Please submit additional titles to be considered for this page to: webmaster @307bg.org
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Pacific Warbird: Coming of Age in World War II by Bob Hamilton Navigator: A dramatized memoir of Bob Hamilton's experiences overseas as Navigator of a B-24 crew in the southwest Pacific in WWII as a member of the 5th Bomb Group. BOB HAMILTON attended Davidson College before joining the Army Air Corps in 1943. After the war, he flew the Pacific as airline navigator, earned degrees from University of California, taught history at three colleges, now lives with his wife, Jeanne, on the shore of a lake near Atlanta. 433 pages.
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<< Download a Preview Clip from the Last Flight Home >> |
The Last Flight Home documents the story of Dr. Patrick Scannon's work searching for and finding missing World War II aircraft and the MIAs associated with them in Palau. A ferocious battleground nearly forgotten by history, yet more than 200 US aircraft went down on and around the islands. Almost half of those with crew now listed as Missing In Action. Over 60 years ago all the families got was a telegram. Whereabouts unknown, Missing In Action. And over the generations these families have refused to forget and refused to stop waiting. For an answer, for their return, for some clue as to what happened. Surprising though it may be, hope has remained. Then, the phone call out of the blue, "Are you the nephew of Arthur Miller?", finally brings the answers. Dr. Scannon furthers his research into the MIAs of Palau. Scouring the National Archives, After Action Reports, and interviews with veterans of the campaign, no stone left unturned. Scannon's small team of self funded private citizens have taken on these tasks simply as a way of thanking the missing and their families for the sacrifices made decades ago. Our film follows the story of three searches in Palau and the families touched by the work. Filmed over the course of nearly six years and seven expeditions to Palau, where we thought the adventure was to be found. It was our delight to discover the adventure and heart of the story here in the U.S. with the families." << Download a Preview Clip from the Last Flight Home >>
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Finding Billy: An Internet Odyssey by Diana Thompson Dale: Finding Billy chronicles the author's search to find out about the circumstances of her uncle's death. Billy Wisner was a World War II pilot who wemt "missing in action" over Italy in October, 1944. That was all the information his family had for over 50 years, though his mother never gave up hope that she would see him again. Diana Dale's simple question on an internet veterans' message board (Does anyone remember my uncle?) led to the resolution of this family's story. Along the way, Dale's internet acquaintances become real friends, and Dale completes the puzzle in the way the US Army could not.
Dale uses family letters to paint a picture of Billy's life, and her emails trace the progression of the investigation. Her personality shines through the prose, as do those of the many people she meets, first online and then in person.
Not just for WWII aviation buffs, Finding Billy will appeal to anyone who likes the satifaction of a mystery solved, or who is haunted by the loss of a loved one. Highly recommended.
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Safely Rest
From 1945 to 1950, the United States returned 178,000 dead American servicemen back home and reburied another 80,000 in overseas cemeteries at their families' request. Never before had a nation returned so many of its fallen warriors from distant battlefields. But another 78,000 servicemen were still missing in action-their bodies never to be found-their families never to know the peace of closure.
Safely Rest recalls this virtually forgotten episode of WWII through the recollections of the survivors and the letters and histories of the dead themselves. It tells of those who struggled to absorb their loss and rebuild their lives-and of those who would never be able to move on.
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Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
Flyboys is the true story of young American airmen who were shot down over Chichi Jima. Eight of these young men were captured by Japanese troops and taken prisoner. Another was rescued by an American submarine and went on to become president. The reality of what happened to the eight prisoners has remained a secret for almost 60 years. After the war, the American and Japanese governments conspired to cover up the shocking truth. Not even the families of the airmen were informed what had happened to their sons. It has remained a mystery—until now. Critics called James Bradley's last book "the best book on battle ever written.
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Shot at and Missed: Recollections of a World War II Bombardier
Myers writes his story of flying bombing missions over some of the toughest targets in German occupied Europe during 1944. When they weren't getting shot at over their targets they were chasing, and catching, the Italian signourinas. Each page demands that you continue reading to see what these young flyers do next. Odd ball characters, like Earl Ruhlin the co-pilot, keep jumping out of the story as he goes from one adventure to the next. You will laugh when you read how the navigator ends up sleeping with a 90 year old crone by mistake. Terrifying and hilarious. Dont miss "Shot at and Missed".
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B-24 Nose Art Name Directory: Includes Group, Squadron and Aircraft Serial Numbers and Photo Availability
A must for B-24 Buffs! Wally has expanded his format to include data on AF Wings and their component bomb groups for most of the USAAF. His B17 Nose Art Directory was concerned with the 8th, 15th, and 20th AFs. And rather than searching the total list for group aircraft he has listed the a/c assigned to each group by group number. Definitely a source book for important data (names, serial numbers, photo availability) on this aircraft.
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Consolidated B-24 Liberator (Osprey Production Line to Frontline 4)
Commissioned to replace the B-17, the Liberator was built in near-record time. The machine was designed around the long-span low-drag Davis wing, a new concept at the time of production. Early models were soon superseded on all production lines by the J model, the most successful B-24 of all time. When production ceased on 31 May 1945, 18,475 Liberators had been made, making it the most produced American aircraft of WW2. A special feature in this book is a selection of wartime black and white photos and colour company advertisements, the latter not seen since the end of the war.
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Those Brave Crews: The Epic Raid to Destroy Hitler's Ploesti Oil Fields
CThose Brave Crews The Epic Raid to Destroy Hitler's Ploesti Oil Fields, vital to the Nazi war machine. Now published in second edition, this gripping account is a timely tribute to those who flew the historic low level mission of August 1, 1943 just 60 years ago. First published in 1989, its graphic description would earn author Ray Ward acceptance into The Authors Guild, foremost writers association, and a life membership in the USAF Academy's Association of Graduates. On that mission, 1700 volunteers beforehand having been told their lives would be at forfeit, attempted to shorten the war, by so doing to save hundreds of thousands of lives. A massive 'tidal wave' of bombers was sent against the sprawling Roumanian oil complex. Ward, writing with emotion, defines what happens after the aircrews had been told "if you hit your targets and none of you return, it will have been worth it." Forty percent did not! Five Medals of Honor and 1,726 DFCs were conferred, so valorous the events that unfolded. Ward's epic narrative seeks to perpetuate his generation's contribution to assure freedom, and with which today's generation identifies.
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Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Hardcover: 192 pages. Publisher: Crowood Pr Ltd (September 1, 1998).
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