Sjömansbiblioteket

Combat Over Korea offers a superb selection of thrilling accounts by Allied airmen of their experiences. These include air combat between fighters, a B29 Superfortress bomber ditching in the sea, C-54 cargo plane being attacked by North Korean fighters.

We read of the exploits of the 21 Troop Carrier Squadron (The Kyushu Gipsies) who flew into impossibly short strips to rescue thousands of wounded soldiers – they received the Presidential Citation for their feat.

Others tell of their hair-raising escapades after being shot down. While a number miraculously avoided capture (often due to the skill of fellow pilots), many were less lucky. Their treatment in captivity was often brutal. Very few escaped but 1st Lieutenant Melvin Shadduck did and he tells his story here, as do others who have remarkable experiences to describe.

While it was not until 1955 that the last POWs were released, the Author concludes that there is every possibility that a number were denied freedom forever.