Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource Against All Odds, Maj. Frederick D. Worthen, (electronic resource)

Against All Odds, Maj. Frederick D. Worthen, (electronic resource)

Creator
Contributor
Summary
During World War II ten young volunteers from all over the United States came together to form the "Rosacker" crew in the 93rd Bomb Group of the 8th U.S. Air Force, flying B-24 Liberators based in England. They flew 24 missions together during the closing months of the war.Their last mission was on January 28, 1945. The target was in Germany's Ruhr Valley, also known as "Flak Alley".About halfway through the bomb run, with heavy flak in the area, we lost the #1 engine. After repeated attempts neither Glenn nor Otis could get the propeller into the feathered position, which is required to minimize wind resistance on the airplane. We could not keep up with the formation, so we dropped out of position, still trying to feather the propeller.Another B-24 next to them was blown up by a direct hit from the anti-aircraft batteries. A second engine quit, and a third was losing power (they only had four engines). The choice was to ditch in the North Sea and die of exposure, or try to make it to an airfield in Antwerp, Belgium, which was occupied by Canadian troops. But the plane was going down fast. At 1,000 feet they bailed out:"I jumped and counted to ten in about two seconds. I know my 'chute must have come close to catching on a tail fin. Well, the whole rip cord, handle, and cable pulls completely loose from the 'chute pack. I pulled so hard my whole arm flew above my head. I knew the 'chute was broken. I was trying to figure out how to pull the 'chute out of the backpack by hand when all of a sudden it opened, with the 'chute and me in a horizontal position." But that wasn't all. Remember the airplane, with its dead engines creating drag on one side, causing it to turn?"I could hear the plane still flying nearby; Joe had put it on autopilot. It sounded as if it was coming back at me."Then they heard the bullets. Below them was a German army camp in occupied Holland. The enemy bullets and their own plane somehow missed them, but the men were captured, and the narrow escapes continued, one after another. Their captors took them "out back," where the Americans thought they would be shot, but were not; the German civilians wanted to lynch the airmen as they were led on a forced march through Bavaria from one POW camp to another. The prisoners were shot at by their guards, and again by the SS on liberation day. Miraculously, all ten fliers survived the war. Fifty years later nine of the ten airmen finished this book, working together to refresh and correct each other's memories."This is not the usual hard-core war story. We have included family ties, the crew's training and formation, our experiences and feelings, going through severe hardships, the humor that was still there, and the getting on with our lives."A lot of this seems pretty "hard-core" to us, but also often very funny, deeply intelligent, and extraordinarily human. These men were heroes. Thank you all, gentlemen, for your flying, and for getting your story down on paper
Language
eng
Work
Instance
Label
Against All Odds
Title
Against All Odds
Statement of responsibility
Maj. Frederick D. Worthen
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
During World War II ten young volunteers from all over the United States came together to form the "Rosacker" crew in the 93rd Bomb Group of the 8th U.S. Air Force, flying B-24 Liberators based in England. They flew 24 missions together during the closing months of the war.Their last mission was on January 28, 1945. The target was in Germany's Ruhr Valley, also known as "Flak Alley".About halfway through the bomb run, with heavy flak in the area, we lost the #1 engine. After repeated attempts neither Glenn nor Otis could get the propeller into the feathered position, which is required to minimize wind resistance on the airplane. We could not keep up with the formation, so we dropped out of position, still trying to feather the propeller.Another B-24 next to them was blown up by a direct hit from the anti-aircraft batteries. A second engine quit, and a third was losing power (they only had four engines). The choice was to ditch in the North Sea and die of exposure, or try to make it to an airfield in Antwerp, Belgium, which was occupied by Canadian troops. But the plane was going down fast. At 1,000 feet they bailed out:"I jumped and counted to ten in about two seconds. I know my 'chute must have come close to catching on a tail fin. Well, the whole rip cord, handle, and cable pulls completely loose from the 'chute pack. I pulled so hard my whole arm flew above my head. I knew the 'chute was broken. I was trying to figure out how to pull the 'chute out of the backpack by hand when all of a sudden it opened, with the 'chute and me in a horizontal position." But that wasn't all. Remember the airplane, with its dead engines creating drag on one side, causing it to turn?"I could hear the plane still flying nearby; Joe had put it on autopilot. It sounded as if it was coming back at me."Then they heard the bullets. Below them was a German army camp in occupied Holland. The enemy bullets and their own plane somehow missed them, but the men were captured, and the narrow escapes continued, one after another. Their captors took them "out back," where the Americans thought they would be shot, but were not; the German civilians wanted to lynch the airmen as they were led on a forced march through Bavaria from one POW camp to another. The prisoners were shot at by their guards, and again by the SS on liberation day. Miraculously, all ten fliers survived the war. Fifty years later nine of the ten airmen finished this book, working together to refresh and correct each other's memories."This is not the usual hard-core war story. We have included family ties, the crew's training and formation, our experiences and feelings, going through severe hardships, the humor that was still there, and the getting on with our lives."A lot of this seems pretty "hard-core" to us, but also often very funny, deeply intelligent, and extraordinarily human. These men were heroes. Thank you all, gentlemen, for your flying, and for getting your story down on paper
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Worthen, Maj. Frederick D
Nature of contents
dictionaries
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Overdrive Inc
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Biography & Autobiography
  • History
  • Military
  • Nonfiction
Label
Against All Odds, Maj. Frederick D. Worthen, (electronic resource)
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Dimensions
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9781589761926
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Stock number
DBE6F5BA-6FE2-4D34-BCD3-3B0DEE4338FE
System details
Adobe PDF eBook
Label
Against All Odds, Maj. Frederick D. Worthen, (electronic resource)
Link
Publication
Dimensions
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9781589761926
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Stock number
DBE6F5BA-6FE2-4D34-BCD3-3B0DEE4338FE
System details
Adobe PDF eBook

Subject

Library Locations

  • Northwest LibraryBorrow it
    2280 Hard Rd, Columbus, OH, 43235, US
    40.118513 -83.076143
  • Old Worthington LibraryBorrow it
    820 High St, Worthington, OH, 43085, US
    40.090609 -83.016926
  • Worthington Park LibraryBorrow it
    1389 Worthington Centre Dr, Worthington, OH, 43085, US
    40.123032 -82.980439

Library Links

Zepheira Logo
Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Worthington Public Library. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.
Processing Feedback ...