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Title details for The Girl and the Bombardier by Susan Tate Ankeny - Available

The Girl and the Bombardier

A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France

by Susan Tate Ankeny
Karen White
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
Susan Tate Ankeny was sorting through the belongings of her late father-a World War II bombardier who had bailed from a burning B-17 over Nazi-occupied France in 1944-when she found two boxes. One contained her dad's Air Force uniform, and the other an unfinished memoir, stacks of envelopes, black-and-white photographs, mission reports, dog tags, and the fake identity cards he used in his escape. Ankeny spent more than a decade from that moment tracking down letter writers, their loved ones, and anyone who had played a role in her father's story, culminating in a trip to France where she retraced his path with the same people who had guided him more than sixty years ago. A remarkable hero emerged-Godelieve Van Laere-just a teenaged girl when she saved the fallen Lieutenant Dean Tate, risking her life and forging a friendship that would last into a new century. The result is an amazing, multifaceted World War II tale that traces the transformation of a small-town American boy into a bombardier, the thrill and chaos of an air war, and the horror of bailing from a flaming aircraft over enemy territory. It distinguishes the actions of a little-known French resistance network for Allied airmen known as Shelburne. And it shines a light on the courage and cunning of a young woman who put her life on the line to save another's.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 8, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781696601597
      • File size: 211735 KB
      • Duration: 07:21:06

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 22, 2020
      In this poignant and unique debut history, Ankeny combines her father’s WWII experiences with the impressions of a young Belgian woman who helped rescue him from Nazi-occupied France. Drafted one month before his college graduation, Dean Tate trained as a B-17 bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps after failing the pilot qualifying test by one point. On his fifth mission, Tate’s plane was strafed by a German fighter and caught fire. He bailed out over a village in northern France and was taken in by members of the French Resistance, including 17-year-old Godelieve Van Laere, whose parents agreed to hide the downed airman. Drawing from her father’s journals and letters, Ankeny recreates his journey to safety through an escape network responsible for rescuing more than 100 Allied servicemen. After her father’s death in 2003, Ankeny reached out to Van Laere and traveled to France to meet her and other people whose families rescued Allied airmen. Ankeny fluidly intertwines both sides of the story, and provides necessary historical context. The result is an intimate and inspirational account of ordinary people committing heroic acts under extraordinary circumstances. Agent: Jennifer Weis, Ross Yoon Agency

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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