The Girl and the Bombardier

A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France

De: Susan Tate Ankeny

Narrado por: Karen White

Susan Tate Ankeny was sorting through the belongings of her late father - a World War II bombardier who had bailed from a burning B-17 over Nazi-occupied France in 1944 - when she found two boxes. One contained her dad's Air Force uniform, and the other an unfinished memoir, stacks of envelopes, black-and-white photographs, mission reports, dog tags, and the fake identity cards he used in his escape. Ankeny spent more than a decade from that moment tracking down letter writers, their loved ones, and anyone who had played a role in her father's story, culminating in a trip to France where she retraced his path with the same people who had guided him more than 60 years ago.

A remarkable hero emerged - Godelieve Van Laere - just a teenage girl when she saved the fallen Lieutenant Dean Tate, risking her life and forging a friendship that would last into a new century.

The result is an amazing, multifaceted World War II tale that traces the transformation of a small-town American boy into a bombardier, the thrill and chaos of an air war, and the horror of bailing from a flaming aircraft over enemy territory. It distinguishes the actions of a little-known French resistance network for Allied airmen known as Shelburne. And it shines a light on the courage and cunning of a young woman who put her life on the line to save another's.

©2020 Susan Tate Ankeny (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Amazing Story of Bravey

Due to this book being based on a true story, there was a lot of facts and names in this book. It was an amazing story! The narrator completely ruined it... it may be a better read. Narrator didn't attempt an accents and was very robotic, I wasn't sure I was going to finish it because of this.

Makes your heart feel good

So many first hand accounts makes this book so great to read. I read it in two days.

Great Story, Horrible Narration

A very suspenseful and amazing story of the brave acts of the French Resistance during the war. Unfortunately the narration is bland, robotic, full of mispronunciations and makes listening to this difficult.

Beautiful story

The author does a wonderful job of describing her father's journey. If you love true WWII stories, this is for you. I really wish this was narrated by someone with more flexion in their voice.

Fabulous story

Great to hear exactly what a downed bombardier faced in ww2. Particularly interesting to hear it was all true. Loved hearing what those that helped the Americans were thinking and why they did it. Very suspenseful and read like a thriller novel. So glad this author brought this story forward as so many stories will not get told. We owe so much to those men in the airplanes who did so much during such dangerous missions.

Incredible True Story of Bravery

It’s an incredible true story of how French people risked their lives to save Allied airman through their resistance networks.
Amazing to read and inspiring to learn about all of them. Greatest generation!

Historical accuracy

I cannot think of one thing to dislike. The story was intense and riveting and the presentation very good

Terrible narration

Robotic reading of a documentary story. Good subject but poor presentation. Surprised that I finished it.