Looking Back

Looking Back: A Tail Gunner''s View of WWII is the sometimes humorous sometimes tragic story of the author''s service in the US Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1945. S/Sgt. VanBlair was tail gunner with a B-24 crew and flew missions over Europe from December 1942 until April 1944. Written to honor the memory of his crew the book is especially dedicated to Albert Spadafora his friend who was more like a brother. You'll share his grief when Albert is killed his anxious moments as he flies through the flak-filled skies over Berlin and watches German fighters gang up on lagging B-24s the sadness of seeing the empty beds of men whose planes are lost. The climax of the book is his account of the crew''s last mission when they lead a formation to Berlin. His hard by flak and fighters they ditch in the North Sea with the loss of five men. You''ll be caught up in his description of the ditching his struggle to escape the wreckage and his thoughts as he floats for an hour in the icy-cold water while realizing that his chances of survival are slim.