The True Story of One World War II Pilot's Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front
February 9, 2015
This unusual WWII narrative takes the reader into the top-secret world of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the uncomfortable alliance between the United States and Soviet Union under Stalin. The book's core is the story of Captain Robert Trimble, as told by his son, Lee, who recorded his father's story and then researched its context. Cpt. Trimble was a decorated combat pilot lured into participating in a top secret OSS mission to bring home POWs who had been lost behind Soviet lines without food, medical assistance, official papers (or status among millions of refugees), and hunted by the Soviet Secret Police, the NKVD. Over several months behind Soviet lines, Cpt. Trimble witnessed some of the worst of war's horrors, but also contributed to one of the war's most satisfying missions, returning liberated people to freedom. His greatest accomplishment was the rescue of over 400 French female forced laborers who were trapped behind Soviet lines. It is an inspiring read and well-researched, to boot; Trimble's story shows that even in a great global war, one regular soldier can make a difference.