|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
British RAF wireless operator/air gunner Bill `Enoch' Kirkness of
Horsforth, Yorkshire, flew thirty-two B-24 Liberator bomber
sorties, twenty-eight of which were against Japanese targets in
Burma. He was credited with downing the night fighter that killed a
crewmate and severely damaged his Liberator in April 1944; his
aircraft's crash-landing abruptly ended his first tour of
operations. He was awarded a prestigious Distinguished Flying Medal
for his heroism. Bill's memoir of Wellington ferry flights,
Liberator training, and operations with 159 Squadron typifies
aspects of the human spirit-including fear and anxiety, focused
determination, numbing boredom, brotherly camaraderie,
heart-wrenching anguish, and comic relief-which any young man
immersed within such a conflict would have likely experienced. Bill
wore his heart, not just his sergeant's stripes, on his sleeve.
Bill's story is a compelling, dignified account of an average man's
war from 1942 to 1944 in the UK, the Mediterranean, Africa, and
onward through his first operational tour based in India. Matt
Poole, an expert on 159 Squadron and RAF Liberator activities
against the Japanese, seamlessly enhances Bill's narrative with
added historical detail. Although Bill passed away in 1994, Matt
vowed to help bring the memoir to a wider audience.
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.