When Surrender Was Not an Option [Paperback]

George G. Crawford (Author), James V. Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2001

This is a true World War II story of a bombardier on a B-24 "Liberator" who was shot down over Austria in March 1944. The book details the bombardier's last missions through his time in Nazi POW camps and his efforts to thwart and frustrate the enemy while imprisoned. The book is filled with drama as well as humor as surely only a POW could interject in such dire straits.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George G. Crawford served as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. His dramatic military career was played out in Europe until liberated by General George Patton's army.

Following military service, George returned to California where he completed his education and obtained a degree in law in 1962. He has had a long and distinguished career in law from attorney to prosecutor to California Assemblyman to judge.

George and his wife Esther currently live in his hometown of San Diego where they are enjoying retirement.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Salado Pr; First Edition edition (December 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966387031
• ISBN-13: 978-0966387032
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting Tale, July 28, 2011

By 

Ryan P (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Surrender Was Not an Option (Paperback)

I happened to meet the author (James Lee) at a Barnes and Noble. He was a real nice guy and I thought I'd buy something. This book looked the most interesting. And interesting it was! I read it in about 4 days. It was quite a page turner. I was so intrigued by the book and the events that I immediately went and got a copy of "The Great Escape" which is mentioned in this book. And that was fantastic. Now I'm onto yet another WW2 book. I'm really glad I came across this as it has really piqued my interest in WW2 events.
I also bought a copy for my dad and grandpa and they enjoyed it too.

4.0 out of 5 stars "March or die"' pg. 48, December 2, 2006

By 

James Hammond (Guam, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Surrender Was Not an Option (Paperback)

A short, quick read of Crawford's account of the march from Stalag Luft 3, Sagan, Silesia, to the railroad head at Spremburg from Jan. 27, 1945. Crawford's route, though, was unusual in that due to herniating himself throwing up on the railroad journey from Spremburg, from "bashing" unexpected meat rations, he wound up in a hospital in the Hammelburg POW allied officer camp. His life was saved there. He was fortunate, just missing Patton's attempt to rescue Col. John Waters (Pattons' son-inlaw)from Hammelburg. Unusual recollections, compared to other Stalag Luft 3 diaries, are those of POWs who would die within 48 hours at Stalag Luft 3, giving up and freezing by the side of the road, being conscientously guarded from hostile Germans by German Luftwaffe guards, who returned him back to the POW camp at Stalag 13D Nuremburg, the hell hole, and an account of POWs who almost made it, but died from eating fried Red Cross donuts upon liberation..While many died on the march, numbers are rarely mentioned in POW diaries. One website, related to the Joe Klass book, "Maybe I'm Dead", notes over 2000 of 10000 died. Our father survived 21 B-24 missions, Stalag Luft 3, the march, Stalag 13D, Nuremburg, and Stalg 7A, Moosburg, before being liberated by Patton's 14th Armored on April 29, 1945.

3.0 out of 5 stars A WWII POW's Story, September 10, 2003

By 

L. Mayes (Rapid City, SD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: When Surrender Was Not an Option (Paperback)

2lt George G. Crawford's B-24, on which he was the Bombardier, was blasted out of the sky over Germany and sent him on a journey as a prisoner of war which he tells very convincingly in this book. Not a highly researched historical reference, but rather an intensely personal story about the privations, dangers and stark realities of captivity, the author covers a part of the story of WWII POWs in Germany which is largely unknown or unappreciated. As the Russians approached the Third Reich in late 1944 and early 1945 the Germany military undertook to march tens of thousands of Allied POWs toward the West. Crawford's experience as he and his fellow "Kriegies" were forced to depart Stalag Luft III near Sagan and march through the brutal winter with virtually no food, inadequate clothing, rampant illness and injury to the prison camp at Moosburg, near Nuremberg, almost exceeds ones senses as to it horror. Heroes and scoundrels abound, both within the ranks of the POWs and the German guards. The author relates his treatment at the hands of a scornful enemy in a most credible fashion, leaving little to the imagination as to how he wound up weighing 65 pounds when finally liberated. The author completes his story with some quite humorous tales he and his fellow POWs enjoy once out of prison but not yet back in the control of US authorities. His narration of travails in France, particularly in Paris, and at the wheel of a stolen (liberated?) 6-wheel Mercedes Command Car, perhaps blurs the lines between fact and fancy but certainly makes entertaining reading. This is a book which will be of interest to those who want to know more about life as a POW and is an easy and enjoyable read.