Dennis R. Okerstrom has 2 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is The Final Mission of Bottoms Up.
The Final Mission of Bottoms Up
Summary
On November 18, 1944, the end of the war in Europe finally in sight, American co-pilot Lieutenant Lee Lamar struggled alongside pilot Randall Darden to keep Bottoms Up, their B-24J Liberator, in the air. They and their crew of eight young men had believed the intelligence officer who, at the pre-dawn briefing at their base in southern Italy, confided that their mission that day would be a milk run. However, that 21st mission out of Italy would be their last. Bottoms Up was staggered by an anti-aircraft shell that sent it plunging earthward, the pilots recovering control at just 5,000 feet. With two engines out, they tried to make it to a tiny strip on a British-held island in the Adriatic Sea and in desperation threw out everything not essential to flight: machine guns, belts of ammunition, flak jackets. But over Pula in what is now Croatia, they were once more hit by German fire, and the focus quickly became getting out of the doomed bomber. Seemingly unable to extricate himself, Lee Lamar all but surrendered to death before fortuitously bailing out. He was captured the next day and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at a Stalag on the Baltic Sea, suffering the deprivations of little food and the coldest winter in Europe in a century. He never saw most of his crew again. Then, in 2006, more than 60 years later, Lamar received an email from Croatian archaeologist Luka Bekic who had discovered the wreckage of Bottoms Up. In this absorbing, alternating account of World War II and its aftermath, Dennis R. Okerstrom chronicles, through Lee Lamar's experiences, the Great Depression generation who went on to fight in the most expensive war in history. This is the story of the young men who flew Bottoms Up on her final mission, of Lamars trip back to the scene of his recurring nightmare, and of a remarkable convergence of international courage, perseverance, and friendship.
©2011 The Curators of the University of Missouri (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks
Project 9: The Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II
Summary
The Best History Book Award Winner (Air Power) Project 9: The Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II is a thoroughly researched narrative of the Allied joint project to invade Burma by air. Beginning with its inception at the Quebec Conference of 1943 and continuing through Operation Thursday until the death of the brilliant British General Orde Wingate in March 1944, less than a month after the successful invasion of Burma, Project 9 details all aspects of this covert mission, including the selection of the American airmen, the procurement of the aircraft, the joint training with British troops, and the dangerous night-time assault behind Japanese lines by glider. Tasked by the general of the Army Air Forces H.H. “Hap” Arnold to provide air support for British troops under the eccentric Major General Wingate as they operated behind Japanese lines in Burma, the air commandos were breaking entirely new ground in operational theory, tactics, and inter-Allied cooperation. Okerstrom’s in-depth research and analysis in Project 9 shed light on the operations of America’s first foray into special military operations, when these heroes led the way for the formation of modern special operations teams such as Delta Force and Seal Team Six. The book is published by University of Missouri Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks. “This a splendid book about a little-reported-on corner of World War II.” (Air Power History)
©2014 The Curators of the University of Missouri (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks