Hell Hawks! received praise this month from Denis J. Calvert, writing in Combat Aircraft magazine (December 2008). Mr. Calvert noted:
“This volume balances gripping first-hand accounts, many recounted by veterans in their own words, with broader analysis of the progress of the air war and the Hell Hawks’ part in it through to VE Day. The accounts are at times exciting, tragic, horrific, poignant, and reflective. What comes through at all times is the courage of the pilots who daily braved flak and fighters to provide the closest of close air support to the troops on the ground.”
Verdict — “Unit histories come little better than this.”
I’m grateful for Mr. Calvert’s praise, and would add that Hell Hawks! is not just a unit history. It is a wider human interest story of young Americans at war, caught up in the most intense combat the world had ever seen. This aerial band of brothers included not just pilots, but the ground crewmen without whose dedication the Thunderbolts of the Hell Hawks would never have gotten airborne.
A Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all!
Tom Jones
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