Customer Reviews

Shot at and Missed: Recollections of a World War II Bombadier

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

As I began to read Shot At and Missed, I found myself reluctant to put it down. It is beyond my ken how the author was mentally able to bring such horrendous experiences of the past into the light of day! I am grateful for his strength of purpose, however, because I was transported into a world that I would otherwise never have realized existed. A world that used it's children to protect itself and my heart ached for that mere child who faced such horrendous odds of surviving for God and Country! Throughtout the book I felt as if I were on an emotional rollercoaster...laughing one minute at their ability to live like there was no tomorrow with the women of Italy or by playing tricks on each other. Then feeling tears well up as Jack spoke of friends falling from flak filled skies not knowing if he would ever see any of them again much less survive himself against such unspeakable odds. It is an amazing story of courage that one who has never experienced life to that extreme can only marvel at what this author must have been carrying in his soul for all these years. So little has been spoken about World War II except for historical pieces that people can finally understand in uncensored language what these brave young people went through to keep us free! I for one, will be forever grateful to these supermen for their sacrifices!

Myers keeps you reading with his vivid portrayal of combat while flying missions over Germany. A real page turner. Most versions of the BIG war are sanitized. Not this one , the author tells all leaving nothing to the imagination. When not flying the author and his friends blow off steam with the local Italian ladies. WOW, they knew how to party.

Myers writes his story of flying bombing missions over some of the toughest targets in German occupied Europe during 1944. When they weren't getting shot at over their targets they were chasing, and catching, the Italian signourinas. Each page demands that you continue reading to see what these young flyers do next. Odd ball characters, like Earl Ruhlin the co-pilot, keep jumping out of the story as he goes from one adventure to the next. You will laugh when you read how the navigator ends up sleeping with a 90 year old crone by mistake. Terrifying and hilarious. Dont miss "Shot at and Missed".

I never realized just how hazardous it was flying heavy bomber missions over Germany until I read this book. Historian Stephen Ambrose said that those bombing missions were the most hazardous combat of WWII. That's why they only had to fly 35 missions before going home.

One moment I cried as I read about those 20 year old kids getting shot down over some German war plant and then I laughed as I read about some of their hi-jinks as they let off steam in Rome and Capri. I can understand why they would do the crazy , funny things they did to compensate for the terror they had just witnessed on a bombing mission. It's a wonder any of them survived. I am sure that what few of them are still alive have nightmares about those flak filled skies. God bless them one and all, they were truly the Greatesr Generation. We will never see ther likes again. The few survivors are the last of a vanishing breed

Andy

Author obviously knows what he is talking about. Has all that it takes for a great movie. It has suspense, action, sex, drama, and history. It was reviewed by Associated Press on 8/15/04 by Norman N. Brown. An action packed story of bombing missions over Germany and the Balkans. I loved it.

In Shot at and Missed Jack Myers gives such a riveting account of his personal WWII experiences that I felt like I was there. The detailed facts presented, derived largely from letters that Myers wrote to family while serving his country in Italy, bring this true story to life. Myers presents a good balance of character development, action and heroism, along with the tradegy of lost lives that war brings. I thank the author for sharing his personal experiences in such a dramatic and engaging manner.

To the people who didn't care for this book may I just say, this man is not a journalist. He's someone who went through something many years ago that most of us can't begin to imagine. My father was a tail gunner in a B-17 and I know very little of what went on. I respect the fact that it's nearly impossible for him to talk about it. I wasn't very far into the book when I realized why my Dad can't talk about it. With thousands of WWII vets dying daily I'm very glad that some are willing and able to talk about their thoughts and feelings, of commitment and loyalty to country - the way it used to be! Rather than rely on surface facts and info in history books (if it's in history books at all), books like this tell what it was really like from an individual viewpoint. I'm thankful to Jack Myers and others like him who will tell their story.

if you want a sense of how it was. I thought I knew a lot about WW II bombers and bombing - I was wrong. Excellent read. I was especially impressed that no aspect of the author's service was sugar coated.

A great book ! My father was a toggelier on a B-17 and I found

the book to be accurate, factual, informative and exciting. The

bombardier on a B-17 sat in the very nose of the aircraft and was

only 24 inches from being the most forward part of the plane. Not

even the pilot or copilot had a more frightening view of the flak

than the bombardier. First hand accounts of these historic events are

beoming fewer and fewer, this is a great one.

Just a great book. You really felt like you were there. You feel like he could get killed at any moment. Anyone could get killed at any moment. What a great read.