A Mesmerizing War Story

 John “Lucky” Luckadoo from Chattanooga Tennessee enlisted right after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Trained as a pilot for B17s, Lucky flew 25 missions and returned home. This was in a time when most pilots flying over Germany only survived eight to ten missions. Lucky deserved his name.

The book details the life of Lucky and his friend Sully. Sully joined the Canadian Air Force also as a fighter pilot. Both were stationed in Britain and were able to spend time together, especially on memorable weekend In London in 1943.

The missions flown by Lucky were particularly dangerous being during the day. The British crews flew night missions. The book vividly describes the flights over targets like Berlin with German fighter planes and ground fire all around. In addition to describing the flights. The author follows the men from training through the rigors of the flights including the icy cold inside the bombers that sometimes caused frostbite. The author also discussed the officers who trained the pilots and those who commanded the squadrons. Some were good people, but as in all situations, some were incompetent and difficult.

I thought the author did an excellent job bringing the reader into the world of the pilots. I found it much better than fiction to understand what these heroes went through. The description of the psychological pressures was hard to read, but extremely well done. I highly recommend this book.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.