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Each book listed here has a detailed Overview link with additional information regarding the author and why that particular book might be of interest to you.
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A History of the 492nd Bomb Group on Daylight Operations
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by Allan G Blue
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The first book ever written about the 492nd! Air war historian Al Blue unearthed the Group's ill-fated history which had long been buried and forgotten. He gave the Group new life and its fallen are now forever remembered. From beginning to end, the entire history is well summarized, clearly explaining how the Group was wiped out — not by their own mistakes but by the "fortunes of war."
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The 492BG(H) at North Pickenham
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by Russell Ives
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What began as an Englishman's hobby turned into a book. Russell Ives was captivated by the Group's history and wanted to know more about these brave men. He focused on the men who fought these tough battles by collecting their stories and war diaries, editing the pieces in chronological order. Needless to say, the book sold out quickly.
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The 859th and 788th Bombardment Squadrons
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by Robin C Janton
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The 859th Bomb Squadron was the only one of the four that remained intact at disbandment. It transferred lock, stock and barrel to the 467th BG and became the 788th Bomb Squadron. Therefore, it was the same squadron in terms of the men and the planes, but with a new unit number and airfield.
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Memoirs from the last year of the European Airwar 1944-45
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by James J Mahoney · Brian H Mahoney
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The only book written about the 492nd from one man's unique point of view. James Mahoney, the 859th Squadron Commander, wrote his memoirs of the war, writing, as the title suggests, about what he witnessed and little about himself.
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by Charles R Bastien
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A book written by one of the 492nd vets for the 492nd vets. Co-pilot Charles Bastien focuses on the 32 co-pilots who trained together at Biggs, Texas, before joining the 492nd. To effectively tell their story in the 492nd, the shared experience of the whole Group had to be told. Bastien did just that. No book has more information about these men than this one does. It's jammed packed!
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The Letters of Ruth Register and The Diary of Edith Christianson
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Edited by Christine C Woods
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A book that reveals an overlooked aspect of service in the war. Ruth Register volunteered for the American Red Cross after her husband was killed in the Pacific. Her war story is a round trip ticket from North Dakota to Europe and back. Her contribution is equal to that of any other.
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Brian Mahoney's book, Reluctant Witness, has a chapter dedicated to Ruth as she served with the 492nd. Her story will run you through every emotion as she paints her daily life working in Allied war camps. It should be made into a movie!
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The story of Pitsenbarger's Crew of the 492nd Bomb Group
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by Russell Ives
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Curtis Anderson, a gunner with the Pitsenbarger Crew R-26 of the 492nd Bomb Group, was the sole survivor of a training exercise mishap on 9 Oct 44. He was found near the wreckage of the Liberator deleriously repeating "I come from California."
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This 76 page book, loaded with photos, begins with Anderson's induction into the Navy and follows his military career into the Army Air Corps and with the Pitsenbarger Crew. It ends with Anderson trying his best to provide comfort to the grieving families of his fallen comrades.
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A pictorial history of the USAAF's 492nd and 491st Bombardment Group
at North Pickenham during WWII
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by Peter Bodle
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Englander Peter Bodle launched Liberator Publishing in 2005 as a small specialty publisher with the aim to produce books and booklets pertaining to WWII aerodromes of the USAAF in Norfolk, England.
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This, the third in his Norfolk series, is a visual tribute to Station 143 at North Pickenham, home to the 492nd and subsequently the 491st Bomb Group. It features a great number of original wartime photographs from both Groups, accompanied by descriptive text.
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I Came of Age during World War II
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by June R Ehrlich
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The author was sixteen at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and married her sweetheart Paul Ehrlich before he went off to war. Paul served in the 492nd BG as the co-pilot of the Hudson Crew R-25 (904) and in the 467th BG at Rackheath when he was shot down and became a POW.
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The book presents both sides of the couple's story — his as a pilot and subsequent POW, hers as a home-front wife.
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by Luanne Rice
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Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice is the daughter of Tom Rice, bombardier with the 492nd Bomb Group's Simon Crew R-03. He was transferred to the Testa Crew R-13, which was eventually transferred to the 44th Bomb Group.
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On 16 Jan 45 the Testa Crew was shot down, but they were able to evade capture and were returned to duty. They continued flying until the very end of the war in Europe, including the very last mission flown by the 8th Air Force.
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The EDGE OF WINTER, however, is not about Luanne's father. Like the 22 novels that preceeded this one, this novel is a work of fiction. But, Luanne has passed her father's war record onto the character of Damian O'Casey, combining composites of real 492nd veterans into the crewmates of the fictional bomber THE SILVER SHARK.
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by Rick Centore
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Based on the wartime experiences of T/Sgt Nello Centore of Crew 601, Rick Centore recounts the compelling events leading to a fateful day in June 1944 when disaster strikes and his father's world is changed forever. Those ensuing days under German lock-and-key in a POW camp are recounted with a visceral memory in the form of Nello Centore's personal journal entries.
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Rick then embellishes and amplifies the first-person account through commentary that sets the historical, political, and personal context for each entry. This is what sets this war story apart from so many others.
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by Albert P Clark
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An American World War II prisoner tells his story of the Great Escape.
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Many fascinating stories of the Great Escape have been told since the end of World War II. Not until now has the story of General Albert P Clark, the first combat personnel captured in US uniform by the Germans, been told. In his 33 months in the infamous prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III, General Clark was involved in and responsible for directing escape work among American prisoners. His tale of courage and perseverance is accentuated by the stark photographs he took from the inside with a pinhole camera.
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