Memories from the Out House Mouse - The Personal Diaries of One B-17 Crew [Illustrated] [Paperback]

G. Robert Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2002

The collected personal diaries of one B-17 bomber crew.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As a small boy, Robert Harvey's interest in the small red leather diary with the brass buckle was usually met with a slap on the hands and the admonishment that he would be told about the book when he was old enough to understand. As stated in his introduction, his father died before Bob was able to learn the facts of the book first hand, but through his research and the collection of the diaries of the other members of his father's B-17 crew, that small book is now available to anyone interested enough to open the cover of this book. Those who do will be able to see and read the combined recollections of this one crew exactly as they were written immediately following their missions over Germany. Born in Boone, Iowa in April 1945, Bob is the second of four children. Following his active duty services in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War, Bob graduated as an electrical engineer and has worked for a major west coast untility company for over 30 years. He currently lives in northern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing; illustrated edition edition (July 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553695232
• ISBN-13: 978-1553695233
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Combat Log of an 8th Air Force B-17 Crew!, August 16, 2008

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memories from the Out House Mouse - The Personal Diaries of One B-17 Crew (Paperback)

"Out House Mouse" was one of the most famous B-17s that served with the 8th Air Force in WWII. Its record of 139 missions without an abort was the second best in the entire Mighty Eighth. Its final assigned crew was headed by LT. Joe Harvey, the author's father. MEMORIES FROM THE OUT HOUSE MOUSE is the combat log of that crew's missions, assembled from the diaries of LT. Harvey and the other eight crewmen of that legendary bomber.

LT. Harvey's diary serve as the backbone of this book, which is chronologically arranged from 1 January to 19 June 1945. Following Harvey's diary entry for that particular day/mission, the other crewmen's reminiscences are given, arranged by the person's location in the B-17 (i.e bombardier, navigator, co-pilot, top turret gunner, etc.). Newspaper articles relating to individual missions are included after the crewmen's entries.

By the time Harvey's crew was assigned to the 91st BG, the days of soul-crushing mission where loss rates ran to 50% or better were over. Encounters with Luftwaffe fighters were rare; flak was the main enemy. During most of "Out House Mouse's" last missions, the 91st lost few aircraft. Consequently, much of the material in this book isn't that exciting; it is, however, terribly repetitive.

Robert Harvey is to be commended for the effort he put into compiling this log of a typical late-war Mighty Eighth B-17 crew. It is a fine tribute to his dad and the other "Out House Mouse" crewmen. Unfortunately, the source material just isn't that gripping.