Z Square 7, A B-29 True Story [Perfect Paperback]

Frank L. Grube (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 2005

The Library of Congress WW2 Permanent Collection Reference Catalog Card Number 2005416558. They flew from Saipan, Tinian and Guam to Kobe, Nagoya and Tokyo! They flew to Osaka, Yokohama and Tachikawa! The B-29s reaped destruction and devastation on the entire country of Japan during World War 2. The destruction was so thorough throughout the country that the Japanese were asked to surrender months before the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Major General Curtis E. LeMay, Commander of the B-29 bombers, wrote in a commendation to his crews , "Men of your courage, resourcefulness, and determination enabled the B-29s to lay waste to the heart of the Japanese mainland and thus hasten the close of World War 2."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Reviewer: W. H. McDonald President, Military Writers Society of America History of Brave Men who crewed B-29s over Japan! This book will educate young people who have no concept of what the war was really like against Japan or what personal sacrifices those brave crewmen who flew B-29s made. Some of the cold facts that jump out at you when reading author Frank Grube s book Z Square 7: A B-29 True Story are astounding and appalling. Take for example some of the numbers that the author presents about the aircraft shot down and how many crewmen survived; of the 20th Air Force alone they lost almost 500 aircraft and had 5,000 crew members shot down but at the war s end less than 200 were still alive in POW camps in Japan. The 504th Bomb Group only had 18 men liberated at the end of the war. This book is well written and informative without sounding like some history text book. It is really a great read and will hold your interest from cover to cover. The writing style mixes facts, shared personal information from witness to events and veterans with lots of researched data. The author does a good job of keeping the flow of the story of men he writes about. What started off as an act of research into his step-father s words about his son s death in the war ended up being so much bigger and inclusive of so many others. This book is full of tales of real heroes! This book is not just about one bomber crew on one aircraft; this is a good look at the air war over Japan and many of the men who flew those missions. Although the B-29 called Z Square 7 crashed into Tokyo Bay over 60 years ago the author will keep their story fresh and alive through his wonderfully written book. If you love aviation stories or WWII history then this is a must read for you. One of the best books written on the air war over Japan in the last decade! --Military Writers Society of America

About the Author

Frank grew up in Lititz, Pa., a Pennsylvania Dutch community in Lancaster County, where he lived until he enlisted in the Army in the mid 1950s. By serving at the U.S. Army Ammunition Depot on Okinawa for two and one-half years, Frank saw the places where some of the fiercest battles of World War 2 were fought. In the early 1960s, after being honorably discharged, Frank accepted an appointment in the Finance Branch of the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. This was his initial appointment into Federal Civil Service, which was to last until his retirement in the early 1990s. It was in Washington, D.C. that he married his wife, Charlotte, and their three children, David, Donna and Dennis, were born. In the early 1960s his mother, Mildred, married Peter Demers, a man she had met while living in Clearwater, Florida. On one of their many visits to Washington, D.C., Frank took his stepfather, Peter, to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia. It was here Peter told Frank about losing his only child, George, when the B-29 on which he was a gunner, was shot down in Tokyo Bay. Peter didn t know many details of the circumstances of that fateful day, May 24, 1945, but he did say that he attended the services at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky when the crew was reburied in a group grave in their final resting place. Frank promised his stepfather then he would never let his stepbrother, George, be forgotten. During the research for the book, he became acquainted with seven families who had also lost loved ones on the same B-29 as George Demers. After twelve years with the National Labor Relations Board, Frank transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Prisons at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. After transferring to the Federal Correctional Institution at Oxford, Wisconsin; the Northeast Regional Office at Philadelphia; the Federal Correctional Institution at T

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Frank L. Grube (June 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930847947
• ISBN-13: 978-1930847941
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.