Innocents Abroad [Hardcover]

Jim Gamble (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2010

Innocents Abroad is a memoir, although the original purpose was to preserve for my children and grandchildren two Logs which described forced marches across Poland and Germany while I was a Prisoner of War during WW II. I obtained two War Time Logs and filled them with day-to-day accounts of our forced march out of Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany (now Poland) in January 1945 and later our march from Nurnberg to Moosberg, Germany. I discovered these logs in 2004 in my bookcase, 60 years later. They were written in pencil, barely legible, sometimes under dreadful weather conditions. I decided to copy them before they became completely unreadable. I have read many accounts of the forced walks prisoners made during the winter of 1945. I found them fascinating, but most of them were written many years after the event. As I read my logs, I realized it is the only day-by-day account of the hardships encountered by the 12,000 prisoners. Later when we walked out the Nurnberg the numbers swelled to over 100,000. I received considerable encouragement from the Secretary of the 467th Bomb Group Organization to enlarge the scope of the account to include a biographical account of my life leading up to my experiences as a POW and of my life following WW II. I didn't become a member of the 467th Bomb Group Organization until they held a reunion in San Antonio, Texas. Since that time I have not missed any of the reunions. At these events, I have met many children who had a parent who served in the 467th Bomb Group. They have expressed keen interest in reading this account since it may also parallel the experiences of one of their parents.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Gamble was a husband for 54 years, is a Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather who was also a Navigator on a B-24 Liberator Bomber during WW II. He was taken Prisoner of War on August 6, 1944 when their bomber was shot down over Hamburg, Germany. He describes his life in detail prior to WW II; his experience as a "Kriegie" (Prisoner of War); and then recounts events in his life following WW II up to the present. While a prisoner, he was forced to walk out of Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany (now Zagan, Poland) when the Russian forces were getting close enough to liberate the prisoners in January 1945. The walk began at 1:00 AM on a frigid day, January 28, 1945. His daily accounts written about this forced march are an on-the-spot daily account written using a pencil stub in the two small books which were provided by the YMCA, Geneva, Switzerland. This is a definitive description of the hardships encountered by the Prisoners of War in the walk from Sagan, Poland to Spremberg, Germany in January 1945. It describes in detail the terror bombing of Nurnberg while they were held captive in a camp situated near the marshalling yards in downtown Nurnberg. Later in 1945, another forced march from Nurnberg to Moosberg, Germany when the American Army got too close. The most remarkable thing was how the Kriegies were treated by the German women during the forced marches. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (February 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1449076718
• ISBN-13: 978-1449076719
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,532,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Innocents Abroad, December 2, 2010

By 

Helen Goodman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Innocents Abroad (Hardcover)

The amazing thing about this book is that it is nonfiction. If one were to try to write this story as fiction, it would be impossible to come up with this. Full of fascinating insights into wartime. A great read, more than worth the purchase price.