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Unsung Eagles
- True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
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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.
What listeners say about Unsung Eagles
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- L. Lizaitis
- 17-10-22
…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.
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- Callum Rankin
- 28-07-22
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.
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- Damian Hutton
- 11-10-23
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.
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-06-22
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.
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- kenneth smith
- 06-04-24
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.
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- a mcmeekin
- 24-10-23
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!
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- Chris
- 02-04-22
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.
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