THE LAST FLIGHT OF BOMBER 31
Harrowing Tales of American
and Japanese Pilots
Who Fought in World War II's Artic Air Campaign
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THE LAST FLIGHT OF BOMBER 31 Harrowing Tales of American
and Japanese Pilots |
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Through
meticulous research and unprecedented interviews with Japanese and
American combatants, award-winning author Ralph Wetterhahn provides
a breathtaking account of the nose-to-tail air war between American
and Japanese flyers above the Bering Sea. Dubbed riders of the "Empire
Express," American pilots stationed in the Aleutians flew nine-hour
missions, 1,500 miles round-trip in subzero temperatures, to bomb
Japanese installations in the Kuril Islands. While on his ongoing
quest to give a full account of MIAs and POWs, Wetterhahn investigated
the crash sites of two Empire Express planes found in the Soviet
Far East in 2000 and 2001, and here re-creates their crews' daunting
exploits. With unrivaled mastery of aviation, warfare, and military
forensic evidence, Wetterhahn rescues from obscurity the final moments
of U.S. Navy pilot Walt S. Whitman, who made a forced landing with
his crew on the Kamchatka Peninsula. He also details the missions
flown by Japan's pilots and the fate of Japanese captured by the
Soviets and interned in Siberia. This is a moving testament to the
impulse to account for all servicemen left behind.
