The Forgotten 500, Gregory A. Freeman
The Forgotten 500, Gregory A. Freeman
29 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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The Forgotten 500
The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II

Author: Gregory A. Freeman

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Unabridged: 10 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/08/2007

Synopsis

The astonishing, never-before-told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II—when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines...

During a bombing campaign, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian villagers risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers, and for months the airmen lived in hiding, waiting for rescue.

In 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip—without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the rescue planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back—without getting shot down themselves.

Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is now being told for the first time. The Forgotten 500 is the breathtaking, behind-the-scenes look at the greatest escape of World War II.

About Gregory A. Freeman

Gregory A. Freeman is an award-winning writer with over twenty-five years in journalism. He has won more than a dozen awards for his writing, including the coveted 2001 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists. He received his degree from the University of Georgia in Athens and has worked for the Associated Press in Atlanta. He has since become a freelance writer and continues to write for a number of publications, including Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, World War II, American History. He is the author of Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought It. He lives in Roswell, Georgia.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Gail on October 01, 2024

I'm very biased about this book because my dad, Joseph Peter Hoffman, was one of the forgotten 500. I'm so appreciative to Gregory Freeman for bringing this event to a potentially large audience. My father never spoke much about his experience, but we would hear more about it from the more vocal cre......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on December 28, 2017

I'm afraid I'm going to have to burst a lot of bubbles with this review, because I know a lot of people really enjoyed this book. To be fair, the storytelling style is really gripping and chock-full of well-told war stories. I love war stories, especially when they're true. Problem is, this book is......more

Goodreads review by Paul on March 07, 2013

Just when I thought I knew all of the major aspects of WWII, along comes a book that shatters all those illusions. The Forgotten 500 is an amazing story of 500+ airmen who came down in the mountains of Yugoslavia and how they are saved from starvation and capture by the rugged Serb freedom fighters.......more

Goodreads review by Cold War Conversations Podcast on July 17, 2015

Whilst this is a good yarn and provides some interesting back stories I felt it lacked substance. The book descends into Brit and communist bashing where some of the facts are tenuous and at best circumstantial. Following my own further research of the subject it's clear the author had been somewhat......more

Goodreads review by Larry on June 17, 2008

If you are a WWII buff this is a must read. The incredible, untold story of the rescue of over 500 US and Allied pilots from Yugoslavia over just a few weeks. Many personal stories and the heroism of the Yugoslav (primarily Serbs)people and how they gave us their food and shelter to feed and house t......more

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