The Final Mission Of Bottoms Up

Author : Dennis R. Okerstrom
Publisher : University of Missouri Press
ISBN 13 : 0826219489
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Final Mission of Bottoms Up written by Dennis R. Okerstrom and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2011-10-28 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On November 18, 1944, the end of the war in Europe finally in sight, American co-pilot Lieutenant Lee Lamar struggled alongside pilot Randall Darden to keep Bottoms Up, their B-24J Liberator, in the air. Over Pula in what is now Croatia, they were once more hit by German fire. Lamar all but surrendered to death before fortuitously bailing out and being captured. in 2006 Lamar received an email from Croatian archaeologist Luka Bekic who had discovered the wreckage of Bottoms Up.

Author : Dennis R. Okerstrom
Publisher : University of Missouri Press
ISBN 13 : 0826272673
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Final Mission of Bottoms Up written by Dennis R. Okerstrom and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On November 18, 1944, the end of the war in Europe finally in sight, American copilot Lieutenant Lee Lamar struggled alongside pilot Randall Darden to keep Bottoms Up, their B-24J Liberator, in the air. They and their crew of eight young men had believed the intelligence officer who, at the predawn briefing at their base in southern Italy, had confided that their mission that day would be a milk run. But that twenty-first mission out of Italy would be their last. Bottoms Up was staggered by an antiaircraft shell that sent it plunging three miles earthward, the pilots recovering control at just 5,000 feet. With two engines out, they tried to make it to a tiny strip on a British-held island in the Adriatic Sea and in desperation threw out everything not essential to flight: machine guns, belts of ammunition, flak jackets. But over Pula, in what is now Croatia, they were once more hit by German fire, and the focus quickly became escaping the doomed bomber. Seemingly unable to extricate himself, Lamar all but surrendered to death before fortuitously bailing out. He was captured the next day and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at a stalag on the Baltic Sea, suffering the deprivations of little food and heat in Europe’s coldest winter in a century. He never saw most of his crew again. Then, in 2006, more than sixty years after these life-changing experiences, Lamar received an email from Croatian archaeologist Luka Bekic, who had discovered the wreckage of Bottoms Up. A veteran of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Bekic felt compelled to find out the crew’s identities and fates. Lee Lamar, a boy from a hardscrabble farm in rural northwestern Missouri, had gone to college on the GI Bill, become a civil engineer, gotten married, and raised a family. Yet, for all the opportunity that stemmed from his wartime service, part of him was lost. The prohibition on asking prisoners of war their memories during the repatriation process prevented him from reconciling himself to the events of that November day. That changed when, nearly a year after being contacted by Bekic, Lamar visited the site, hoping to gain closure, and met the Croatian Partisans who had helped some members of his crew escape. In this absorbing, alternating account of World War II and its aftermath, Dennis R. Okerstrom chronicles, through Lee Lamar’s experiences, the Great Depression generation who went on to fight in the most expensive war in history. This is the story of the young men who flew Bottoms Up on her final mission, of Lamar’s trip back to the scene of his recurring nightmare, and of a remarkable convergence of international courage, perseverance, and friendship.

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Missouri Historical Review written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : James Shannon Buchanan
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 560 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Chronicles of Oklahoma written by James Shannon Buchanan and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Chad Pregracke
Publisher : National Geographic Books
ISBN 13 : 9781426201004
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book From the bottom up written by Chad Pregracke and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : William R. Cubbins
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The War of the Cottontails written by William R. Cubbins and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterfully written story of a young American pilot's experiences as a member of the 450th Bombardment Group in the air war against Nazi Germany's Fortress in Europe in 1944. 30 photos.

Author : Richard Ingrams
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 88 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bottoms Up! written by Richard Ingrams and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Alec Le Sueur
Publisher : Summersdale
ISBN 13 : 9781849532471
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.78/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bottoms Up in Belgium written by Alec Le Sueur and published by Summersdale. This book was released on 2014-01-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Brussels and all those Eurocrats on the gravy train? It's just so boring. Why, you can't even name ten famous Belgians!' Until 1993, Alec had never been to Belgium, so it came as some surprise when in August that year he found himself at the altar of a small church in Flanders, reciting wedding vows in Flemish. It was the start, for better or for worse, of a long relationship with this unassuming and much maligned little country. As he ordered yet another pint of Stella, it dawned on him that perhaps it was time to immerse himself in Belgian culture, especially when there were over a hundred locally produced beers on the menu. He vowed to put worldwide opinion to the test: just how boring can Belgium be?

Author : British Columbia. Dept. of Lands
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Report of the Minister of Lands for the Province of British Columbia for the Year Ending ... written by British Columbia. Dept. of Lands and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : California Public Utilities Commission
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 882 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Decisions of the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California written by California Public Utilities Commission and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 882 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: