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Honor Them for Their Sacrifice
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor is a poignant exploration of a hidden WWII saga, where the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress unravels the untold stories of its heroic crew. Why was this an important book for you to write?
As a young schoolboy watching auxiliary crews retrieving body parts of the deceased crew from the field where the Flying Fortress crashed and exploded, remained as a vivid image in my mind for the rest of my life.
That I had seen horrific scenes during my time in the bombing and rocket attacks on London paled in comparison with this incident. The thought that this plane had almost crashed into my house before exploding about 30/40 seconds later in a nearby field made me think that some of those body parts could have been mine.
While it remained in the back of my mind for many years afterward, and I had mentioned it to my wife and children, I had no compunction to seek further information. However, while researching for another project, I accidentally came across the story of the plane online. It was after I posted information about this story on my Facebook page strange connections were made. The connection with the pilot’s daughter who never knew her father, the navigator’s diary which came into my possession, and whose descendant relatives never knew he had written a diary.
All of this and many other strange coincidences occurred in which it seemed the souls of those nine airmen had waited for me to reach this stage of my life to cause me to want to honor them for their sacrifice. Thus, in my eighties, a book was born.
What research did you undertake to ensure you had everything you needed to write this book?
The research was intensive and never-ending. One can never really have everything one wants to write a book of this sort. There is always that ‘something more’ one feels one must have, but eventually, the story takes shape. I was fortunate in the sense that having many years of experience in my business of consulting, personnel search, and recruiting, I began tracing the relatives of four of the deceased airmen. Additionally, I made use of the 1940 Census for one family. Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) I obtained information about the 8th Air Force and 398th Bomb Group. Delving even deeper, I obtained the specific Secret Operational Records for the 600th Squadron to which the Tomahawk Warrior crew belonged. The major difficulty of tracing relatives was the fact only one of the crew was married. Therefore, only that crew member had any surviving progeny.
Was there anything that you uncovered in your research that surprised you?
There were so many incidents of serendipity that clearly indicated to me we are all linked in this quantum universe. I feel strongly that I was led, not only by my tenacity to find out what happened to this crew but also by some unknown force. While meeting and interviewing relatives, I fully understood the emotional impact I was having on them. After all, I was the last living person on earth who had seen their loved ones and related to the ultimate sacrifice they made that morning.
Among the several corrections to history I made concerning this accident was the solving of the so-called, ‘Frank Snyder mystery.’ Snyder was the tail gunner for the Tomahawk Warrior but did not fly on its last fateful mission. There was never an official explanation. He returned to the USA and nobody ever heard from him again. A local historian said he traced Snyder and published his findings on the internet. I disproved this theory by showing he had identified the wrong Frank Snyder and began my own independent investigation.
The result of my investigation was both shocking and very emotional for me. Without going into the details here but which are fully described in my book, it is obvious this man deserves full recognition for his service as a member of the TW crew. He suffered a violent and unexpected death in an auto-train accident 19 years after the TW crash. He is buried in a small cemetery in California, and I will spend as much time as possible to persuade local veterans’ groups to lay an annual wreath on his grave. I will continue to reach out to surviving relatives and persuade authorities he should be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery with his fellow crew members. Snyder flew on every single mission with the Tomahawk Warrior crew except the last fateful one.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Prior to the Tomahawk Warrior, I had started my memoir, Alliance d’Amour: The Rise of Love and Devotion from the Ashes of WWII.
It would tell the story of my late wife Sophie and I, and our life over three continents and many countries. I had survived the Blitz in London and Sophie had lived under German occupation of France. We met after the war and were married for 62 years before Sophie went to heaven in 2018. I am not sure if at 87-years-old I still have the energy to complete this one.
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He started his own research and began asking himself many questions about the disaster. How did this plane crash and why, particularly in that location? For what reason was the plane misnamed ‘The Tomahawk Warrior’ through all those years? What strange circumstance led the author to come into possession of the navigator’s diary that no one knew even existed? Why did one airman not take his place on board that day and become a part of the ‘missing airman’ legend?
Despite the coincidence that the plane of the ‘Tomahawk Warriors’ and the plane of Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. crashed on the same day; Huntley revealed a further significant link between them. This incident adds a further little-known aspect about the Kennedy’s in American history.
Based on Declassified Secret Operational Records, analysis of other official and unofficial records, the author’s personal observations on the day of the accident, and his pursuit of other facts, those mysteries became fully resolved. This story provides a distinct understanding of the immense courage those young 20 to 26-year-old American airmen displayed. Mission after mission, they climbed aboard their craft and carried out their respective duties at 28,000 ft in sub-zero temperatures, hoping their electric-heated protective clothing would not short out during the 9 to 10-hour flight. They prayed that flak and enemy fighters would give them that 70 percent chance of getting back home.
The book offers vivid descriptions of those who got shot down, baled out, and died or got captured to spend the rest of the war as POWs.The narrative places its emphasis on the lives of the heroes who served in WWII and their loved ones who have grown up in their shadows. He obtained a posthumous honor to the deceased crew, as well as a Permanent Commemorative Marker, and brought relief and closure to the descendants’ relatives. This is not a post-mortem of wartime machinery, but a window into the lives of some heroes who sacrificed themselves for a cause, as well as a personal insight into the familial relationships with their loved ones at home.
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor
In The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor, David E. Huntley offers a detailed account of a lesser-known World War II incident. The book revolves around the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress in England in 1944, involving a crew of nine, known as the Tomahawk Warriors. Huntley, who witnessed the plane’s descent as a young boy, delves deep into the lives of these crew members, bringing to light a story that remained obscured for nearly a century.
Huntley’s narrative skillfully bridges the gap between a factual recounting and an engaging tale, making the book a compelling read. His approach gives the book a novelistic quality, often reminiscent of high-quality World War II documentaries or cinematic depictions of the era. The author’s chance witnessing of the crash and his subsequent discovery of a navigator’s diary form the backbone of this investigation, offering key insights into the fate of the B-17 and its crew.
Huntley expertly maintains suspense and emotional depth throughout the book. The narrative is engaging, pulling the reader into the story and culminating in a poignant conclusion that resonates deeply. The book is not just a recounting of historical events; it is also a tribute to the crew, crafted with a clear passion for uncovering and preserving this fragment of history.
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor is more than a historical account; it is a homage to the bravery and sacrifices of the crew. Huntley’s work ensures that this story, and the memory of the Tomahawk Warriors, endures. This book is a meaningful addition to the literature on World War II, offering a unique perspective that stays with the reader well after the final page is turned.
Pages: 468 | ASIN: B0CK5BCBS8
LITERARY TITAN 