As our World War II veterans get older, many of their children and grandchildren take it upon themselves to make sure that their stories are heard. After many years of thinking about it, Dr. Brooks Mitchell, a professor at the University of Wyoming, decided to publish his father’s wartime experience after receiving his diaries from World War II. The book, “Kipling’s Error III: They Were Good Americans” from 21st Century Publishers, highlights the bravery of his father’s B-17 crew during the early days of World War II as told through the crew’s diaries.
Mitchell’s father, Capt. Lloyd Mitchell, served as the navigator for 25 missions over enemy-occupied Europe in the B-17 Flying Fortress. The title of the book comes from a single haunting entry in Capt. Mitchell’s diary: “They were good Americans.” This was recorded after he helped clean up the remains of several friends of his who were killed on a raid into the Third Reich.
The book takes you inside the cockpit and through the dangers encountered by this heroic bombing squadron. The touching and riveting story includes vintage photographs and chronicles the crew’s 25 successful raids from their base in Snetterton Heath, England.
This grand tale, based on the oral history and diary of Capt. Mitchell and the four known diaries of his crewmates, reveals every possible human emotion, from bravery to terror, from duty to patriotism, and from love to hate.
Price: $29.95.
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