The Bomber Boys                                                    Heroes Heroes Who Flew The B-17s In WW II                                                                                       
 

 Read The Bomber Boys for free (then buy a copy for a friend at B&N) at great libraries across America...like these:

Austin Community College
   (Austin, TX)
Bentonville Public Library
   (Bentonville, AR)
Buckley Public Library
   (Poteau, OK)
Corrales Community Library
   (Corrales, NM)
Crawfordsville District
Public Library
   (Crawfordsville, IN)
Edgewater Public Library
   (Edgewater, NJ)
Hillsdale College Mossey
Library
   (Hillsdale, MI)
Indianola Public Library
   (Indianola, IA)
Jackson Parish Library
   (Jonesboro, LA)
Madison Public Library
   (Madison, WI)
Riverside Public Library
   (Riverside, IL)

University of Arkansas  Special Collections

   (Fayetteville, AR)
Winchester Public Library
   (Winchester, MA)

If your local library does not have The Bomber Boys, ask them to order a copy.

"Some of the stories read like combat fiction, with dogfights and shot-up planes and skies full of fire, at the end of which the pilot comes in on a wing and a prayer"                               

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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"Ayres interviewed these men over a long period of time, presenting their stories freshly and vividly.  Another essential read for all World War II history buffs; highly recommended." 

LIBRARY JOURNAL  (www.libraryjournal.com/article)

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"...an absorbing , insightful read."  

 BILL SLOAN  ( Author of THE ULTIMATE BATTLE)

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"Travis Ayres is a terrific researcher and storyteller and has written a remarkable book about remarkable individuals...    The Bomber Boys is about courage, perserverance, and survival - its a perfect example of truth transcending fiction."

THE RESIDENT (CT, RI)  

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Buy it now on Amazon.com ... click below:


www.amazon.com/Bomber-Boys-Heroes-B-17s-World/dp/0451228715/ref=sr

The Stork Club crew  (385th Bomb Group) featured in the story "Manna From Heaven."  Kneeling from left to right are:  Marvin Hydecker (Bombardier), Robert Valliere (Navigator), Wallace MacCafferty (Co-Pilot), Michael Swana (Pilot).   Standing from left to right are:  Al Hareda (Flight Engineer), Leonard Weinstein (Radio Operator), Charles DuShane (Tail Gunner/Ball Turret), William Wells (Waist Gunner).
Three "Bomber Boys" attended the book signing at Barnes and Noble (North Haven, CT) Nov 7, 2009.  Left to right are:  George Ahern (Ball Turret - 351st B.G.), Peter Scott (Waist Gunner - 384th B.G.), Travis L. Ayres, and Anthony Teta (Navigator - 305th B.G.).

THE BOMBER BOYS - HEROES WHO FLEW THE B-17S IN WW II  (Penguin-NAL)       Five true stories of five different Flying Fortress aircrews who flew mission after dangerous combat mission in the sky above Germany.  They flew to the target for Uncle Sam and they flew back to base for themselves.  The airmen who came home were the first to say the "real heroes" were the ones who did not.  But to the survivors belong the sometimes painful memories that must be stirred if the true stories are to be told.

Get your copy of  The Bomber Boys today at:       Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon.Com (www.amazon.com/Bomber-Boys-Heroes-B-17s-World/dp/0451228715/ref=sr) or your favorite Independent book store!  

And now...

a new Hardcover Edition from The History Book Club (www.HistoryBookClub.com)   

Marvin Walker's B-17 crew (351st B.G.)  Front row (L to R): Marvin R. Walker (pilot), Maurice E. Joncas, Donald E. Knuepple, Daniel Rader.             Back row:  William R. Schneider, William W. Weaver, Charles S. Armstrong (Waist Gunner), George E. Ahern (Ball Turret Gunner), Paul A. Schrader.

* Crewman not shown: Philip Duke (Waist Gunner).

"Perhaps no other military specialist emerged with the mystique that surrounded the ball turret gunner.  Sometimes even his fellow crew gunners did not understand him and they knew even less about the strange weapon he operated."

                                                                                                             

 

(from the story, "The Belly Gunner and Big Ben")                                                                                                 

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Contact the author:   dixietales@aol.com    

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The crew pictured above flew many different B-17s in the final months of 1944 and the early months of 1945...including, Fancy Pantz and the legendary Old Miss Destry, which would survive the war after completing 138 combat missions.   Standing (L to R):  Jerome J. Chart (Pilot),  Ceorge Wisniewski (Co-Pilot), Glenn B. Kelly (Bombardier), Anthony Teta (Navigator).
Kneeling (L to R):  Kenneth Hall (Radioman), John Stiles (Waist Gunner and Toggler), Carl Robinson (Flight Engineer), William Goetz (Ball Turret Gunner), Tom Christenson (Waist Gunner) John Cuffman (Tail Gunner).                 

Read their story, "The Lucky  Bastards Club" in The Bomber Boys - Heroes Who Flew The B-17s In WW II.  (From PENGUIN - New American Library)
       Listen to an on-air interview with author Travis L Ayres
                       www.teentalknetwork.com/sky2.htm




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Our new home website for The Bomber Boys is still a work in progress.  That translates to: "We've still got some bugs to work out."  Pleaes enjoy the content and come back soon as we continue working to improve and expand this tribute to the airmen of World War II.

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