Unsung Eagles

True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II

By: Jay A. Stout

Narrated by: Traber Burns

The nearly half-million American air crewmen who served during World War II have almost disappeared. And so have their stories.

Award-winning writer and former fighter pilot Jay A. Stout uses Unsung Eagles to save an exciting collection of those accounts from oblivion. These are not rehashed tales from the hoary icons of the war. Rather, they are stories from the masses of largely unrecognized men who - in the aggregate - actually won it. They are the recollections of your Uncle Frank who shared them only after having enjoyed a beer, of your old girlfriend’s grandfather who passed away about the same time she dumped you, and of the craggy guy who ran the town’s salvage yard, a dusty, fly-specked B-24 model hung over the counter. These are “everyman” accounts that are important but fast disappearing.

Ray Crandall describes how he was nearly knocked into the Pacific Ocean by a heavy cruiser’s main battery during the second battle of the Philippine Sea. Jesse Barker, a displaced dive-bomber pilot, tells of dodging naval bombardments in the stinking mud of Guadalcanal. Bob Popeney relates how his friend and fellow A-20 pilot was blown out of formation by German anti-aircraft fire: “I could see the inside of the airplane - and I could see Nordstrom’s eyes. He looked confused...and then immediately he flipped up and went tumbling down.”

The combat careers of 22 different pilots from all the services are captured in this book that captivates the listener not only as an engaging oral history but also by putting personal context into the great air battles of World War II.

©2013 Jay A. Stout (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Loved it

A great collection of war stories from mostly unheralded fliers from WWII. Unlike so many other books, this includes fairly raw and unvarnished tales of ordinary men doing often extraordinary things. Thoroughly enjoyed the wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and post-war lives of the fliers.

Thank you

Appropriately I finished this book on Veterans Day. As an American we should never forget the sacrifices made by so many to fight a this war. Thank you to every veteran. Thank you for collecting these stories before they are lost forever.

Excellent book!!

This is a wonderful group of stories about the working man’s heroes we never hear about. I’m going to listen to this one again and again.

Good Stories

The author repeated already stated facts. It was very interesting to hear these heroes talk about going from their ordinariness to the greatest generation. Acknowledging their fear unlike movie portrayals of heroes.

Very good

Very good very good. You will enjoy it a lot. It is reaches the heart of the other song.