The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War IIThe astonishing, never-before-told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II—when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. “An amazing, riveting tale of unsung heroes who went above and beyond.”—James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers During a bombing campaign over Romanian oil fields, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian farmers and peasants risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers while they waited for rescue, and in 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip large enough for C-47 cargo planes—without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the cargo planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back—without getting shot down themselves. Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is now being told for the first time ever. The Forgotten 500 is the gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the greatest escape of World War II. |
Contents
Introduction | xi |
Well Get Them Out | 1 |
Abandon Ship | 10 |
Counting Parachutes | 26 |
Americanski? | 37 |
Long Journey to Somewhere | 59 |
Escaping Yugoslavia | 79 |
Passports Please | 99 |
Goats Milk and Hay Bread | 168 |
An AllAmerican Team | 183 |
SOS Waiting for Rescue | 189 |
Sure to Be a Rough Landing | 199 |
Red Red Red | 213 |
Going Home Shoeless | 225 |
Gales of the World | 240 |
Secrets and Lies | 267 |
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Common terms and phrases
agents airstrip Allies Ameri American airmen army asked bailed ball turret Bari Belgrade bomb bomber British Cairo Chetnik Chetnik soldiers Churchill Clare Musgrove collection of George Communist crew Donovan downed airmen Draza Mihailovich enemy lines Felman field Fifteenth Air Force fight fliers flying George and Mirjana George Vujnovich German fighter Germans going ground gunner guns hailovich heard hundred Italy Jibilian jump kill Klugmann Kraigher Lalich landing Legion of Merit lives looked Magda Goebbels McKool Mihailov military mission mountains Musulin Nazi Nick Lalich night officer Oliver Operation Halyard Orsini parachute Partisans passport Petrovich pilot Ploesti Pranjane radio Rajacich realized reported Romania Serbian Serbs slavia soon stay story sure target territory thought tion Tito Tito's told took train trying Ustashe village Vujnovich knew waiting walking wanted Washington watched Wilson World World War II Yugo Yugoslav Yugoslavia