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Memories from the Out House Mouse - The Personal Diaries of One B-17 Crew

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"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.