A true-life story of combat during World War II. In the book the author describes the action that leads up to the loss of his combat crew when their aircraft is downed by German forces. Events after he crash-lands his aircraft provide a narrative history that leads the reader into the emotional life of a prisoner of war.
The reader is taken through a progressive series of events as the author adjusts to a life that is a composite mixture of boredom, fear and danger. With escape uppermost in his mind he is made increasingly aware of the risks and retribution following a failed escape attempt.
He was in that same Stalag Luft III prison camp when British Prisoners in the adjacent North Compound made their escape through a tunnel. When captured, fifty of these prisoners were shot to death. The directive to murder the prisoners came directly from Hitler.
Solitary confinement for an escape attempt followed by a "forced" winter march as Stalag Luft III is evacuated, provides further insight into the dangers and hardships faced by the prisoners as their captors move the prisoners from one area to another in an attempt to avoid liberation by Allied military forces.
As the war continues the Red Cross food supplies are depleted and starvation becomes a reality. Dysentery and vermin are prevalent in the prison Stalag located at Nuremberg where thousands of allied prisoners have been relocated.
The author describes in vivid detail the chaos and fear created as bombs fall on targets located adjacent to the prison compounds.
Seeking to make his way to friendly territory the author continues his quest for freedom with multiple escapes during a second forced march fromNuremberg to Moosberg, Germany.
The author is greeted with a shocking scene of horror when captured after several days of freedom and returned to an "Oflag" where British ground-officer survivors of the battles of Dunkerque, Crete, Dieppe are imprisoned by the Germans.
The day of liberation finally arrives, but the story does not end with the events of that joyous day.
Adventure and tragedy continue after the war as the author flies combat during the Korean conflict and later provides a stirring, emotional account of a B-47 accident.
After his combat tour in Vietnam and retirement from the military the author and his wife revisit areas in England and France where some of the wartime events took place. Of special significance was a visit to his gunner's grave in France.