Coffin Corner Boys
One Bomber, Ten Men, and Their Harrowing Escape from Nazi-Occupied France
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"Gripping…filled with…dramatic escapes, moments of surprising humanity, and acts of bravery." —Publishers Weekly
A Story of Adventure, Survival, Loyalty, and Brotherhood
Taking off from England on March 16, 1944, young Lt. George Starks and the nine-man crew of his Flying Fortress were assigned to the “coffin corner,” the most exposed position in the bomber formation headed for Germany. They never got there. Shot down over Nazi-occupied France, the airmen bailed out one by one, scattered across the countryside. Miraculously, all ten survived, but as they discarded their parachutes in the farmland of Champagne, their wartime odyssey was only beginning.
Alone, with a broken foot and a 20mm shell fragment in his thigh, twenty-year-old Starks set out on an incredible 300-mile trek to Switzerland, making his way with the help of ordinary men and women who often put themselves in great danger on his behalf. Six weeks later, on the verge of giving up, Starks found himself in the hands of a heroic member of the French Resistance—he calls him “the bravest man I’ve ever known”—who got him safely across the heavily guarded border.
Similar ordeals awaited the other nine crewmen, who faced injury, betrayal, cap-tivity, hunger, and depression. It was nothing short of miraculous that all ten came home at the end of the war.
George Starks emerged from his ordeal with two passions—to stay in touch with his crew whatever the obstacles and to return to France to find and thank the brave souls to whom he owed his life. His enduring loyalty enabled him to do both.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Avriett, a former editor of Southern Living magazine, moves far afield from that region to recount the wartime experiences of the 10-member crew of a B-17 shot down over France on Mar. 16, 1944. The remarkable story of the crew's efforts to evade France's German occupiers is framed by coauthor and B-17 captain George Stark's 1969 return to France to retrace his grueling, dangerous journey to the Swiss border and freedom, and to find and thank those who aided him. Although Stark's escape, which involved being hidden and helped by Resistance members as he walked on a broken foot into Switzerland, is the centerpiece, the odysseys of the other nine crew members, each of whom survived the war, are also gripping several are captured and face harrowing time in brutal POW camps. This tale also illuminates the personalities and motivations of ordinary French citizens and Resistance members who at great risk helped the flyers to safety. The writing is unsophisticated and uncritical, but readers interested in WWII will find the experiences of these young airmen filled with sufficient dramatic escapes, moments of surprising humanity, and acts of bravery to transcend any defects.
