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Title details for Beyond the Call by Lee Trimble - Available

Beyond the Call

The True Story of One World War II Pilot's Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front

by Lee Trimble
Jeremy Dronfield
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Near the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men. The Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Russia. As they advanced across Poland, the prison camps of the Third Reich were discovered and liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans. The United States repeatedly offered to help recover their POWs, but were refused. With relations between the allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield; it would provide the base and the cover for the operation. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble. With little covert training, already scarred by the trials of combat, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police, saving hundreds of lives. At the same time he battled to come to terms with the trauma of war and find his own way home to his wife and child. One ordinary man. One extraordinary mission. A thousand lives at stake. This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow men home to safety and freedom.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 3, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781490656571
      • File size: 317221 KB
      • Duration: 11:00:52

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 9, 2015
      This unusual WWII narrative takes the reader into the top-secret world of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the uncomfortable alliance between the United States and Soviet Union under Stalin. The book's core is the story of Captain Robert Trimble, as told by his son, Lee, who recorded his father's story and then researched its context. Cpt. Trimble was a decorated combat pilot lured into participating in a top secret OSS mission to bring home POWs who had been lost behind Soviet lines without food, medical assistance, official papers (or status among millions of refugees), and hunted by the Soviet Secret Police, the NKVD. Over several months behind Soviet lines, Cpt. Trimble witnessed some of the worst of war's horrors, but also contributed to one of the war's most satisfying missions, returning liberated people to freedom. His greatest accomplishment was the rescue of over 400 French female forced laborers who were trapped behind Soviet lines. It is an inspiring read and well-researched, to boot; Trimble's story shows that even in a great global war, one regular soldier can make a difference.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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