Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Unsung Eagles

  • True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II
  • By: Jay A. Stout
  • Narrated by: Traber Burns
  • Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (52 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Unsung Eagles

By: Jay A. Stout
Narrated by: Traber Burns
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

The nearly half-million American air crewmen who served during World War II have almost disappeared. And so have their stories.

Award-winning writer and former fighter pilot Jay A. Stout uses Unsung Eagles to save an exciting collection of those accounts from oblivion. These are not rehashed tales from the hoary icons of the war. Rather, they are stories from the masses of largely unrecognized men who - in the aggregate - actually won it. They are the recollections of your Uncle Frank who shared them only after having enjoyed a beer, of your old girlfriend’s grandfather who passed away about the same time she dumped you, and of the craggy guy who ran the town’s salvage yard, a dusty, fly-specked B-24 model hung over the counter. These are “everyman” accounts that are important but fast disappearing.

Ray Crandall describes how he was nearly knocked into the Pacific Ocean by a heavy cruiser’s main battery during the second battle of the Philippine Sea. Jesse Barker, a displaced dive-bomber pilot, tells of dodging naval bombardments in the stinking mud of Guadalcanal. Bob Popeney relates how his friend and fellow A-20 pilot was blown out of formation by German anti-aircraft fire: “I could see the inside of the airplane - and I could see Nordstrom’s eyes. He looked confused...and then immediately he flipped up and went tumbling down.”

The combat careers of 22 different pilots from all the services are captured in this book that captivates the listener not only as an engaging oral history but also by putting personal context into the great air battles of World War II.

©2013 Jay A. Stout (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Fighter Group cover art
The Fighting Corsairs cover art
America's Few cover art
Clean Sweep cover art
Air Apaches cover art
Project 9: The Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II cover art
Aircrew cover art
Mission cover art
Forgotten Fifteenth cover art
The Cactus Air Force cover art
Ace Pilots of World War II Series, Fighter Aces of the R.A.F 1939-1945 cover art
Never Call Me a Hero cover art
Operation Vengeance cover art
Silent Warriors, Incredible Courage cover art
The Flying Tigers cover art
Target Tokyo cover art

What listeners say about Unsung Eagles

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

…Love this book

Great personal story’s from the pilots brilliantly read in a nice laid back manner. Love this kind of book. It’s easy to adsorb the information and holds your interest.
Will read again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly informative

Have to say that I was honestly surprised with how good this book was. I only really picked it up as something to listen to while at work but actually found myself giving it a complete listen twice. It was also surprising when it brought up about the pilots rescuing downed airman in the British channel: something I never knew about, and that I think needs more talking about.

The flow of the book is good. I like that for each chapter and each new pilot, they're given roughly the samr amount of time on their history before joining the military, then finding out what led them to be there. Some of the stories have a good sense of humour, but don't take away, while they're all serious enough to be believable.

My only real complaint would be that some prononciation of certain words, like the Japanese cruiser are different than what I've heard them, but that may just be from the fact that I'm from England listening to a book read by someone from the USA, so some words are different. A minor detail.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Excellent

I can only repeat the other 5 star reviews, an absolute cracker !!!
Engaging from first to last , a book that I will certainly revisit. If I could give more than 5 stars I most certainly would.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding.

I have been reading about WW1 and WW2 for 60 years. This is one of the most interesting books as it gives useful data on the more obscure aircraft.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Bravery of the fliers

I liked the way it was read and it made you understand what all those brave men went through during the war.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Some very interesting stories, but.....

the reader must keep in mind to focus on the he personal stories, and not take anything else as gospel!
Written and published in America it has a number of inaccuracies of data on battles and technical specs, and some outlandish claims on performance here and there!
There's also the ever present trope that no one else was involved in WW2 other than the USA.
However...... ignore that and listen to the personal stories and you'll be rewarded with some gripping history!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible Narrator

The stories are great, first hand aviation accounts from ww2.
The narrator however gives an awful performance. He reverts into a higher monotoned shouting expression every time he quotes. Once noticed it's frustrating to listen to.
Book not completed for this reason.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!