Who: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
What: Bloody Skies
When: WW2
Where: Europe, primarily Romania oil fields
Why: Even as World War Two fades into history, and the brave soldiers of the war go to their final resting place, their history deserves to be honored and remembered.
I am probably most familiar with Normandy, and certainly have seen the horrific photos of when the American GIs liberated the death camps of the Nazis. I had very little knowledge of the WW2 aviators. Shamefully, if asked, I think the first image to come to my mind would be Snoopy fighting the Red Baron.
What a book military historian Cleaver has written! I admit I know nothing about aviation, especially that of planes from eighty years ago. I have an irrational fear of flying in today’s modern aircraft; reading of the planes these men flew was terrifying.
And that is part of why this is such a tremendous book; Cleaver takes us right into the skies with the pilots. His skill in writing about their missions make it so real, I could almost feel the vibrations of the propellers and they often flew so low to the ground, I felt as though I needed to dodge flak!
As shown in the Ukraine/Russian war, drone warfare is taking a larger role in fighting. The sophistication will reduce deaths, hopefully. However, I think anyone who really wants the US to engage in war needs to read this book to understand the losses of military engagement.