“In Honored Glory… The Men and Stories of the “Bangin’ Lulu” and Queen of Angels” is the WWII journey of two 8th AF B-24 bomber crews who served in the ETO. This historical biography is a collection of these men’s own stories told by them through personal letters and interviews and their compatriots. The 354-page book includes maps, charts, diagrams and hundreds of photographs. These USAAF airmen were just a few of the hundreds of thousands of young American recruits whom may have gone to war as boys, but quickly became men ~ men who served their country with dignity, honor and valor. This is the candid account of these two B-24 bomber crews ~ eleven young men “just doing their jobs”, eight who made the supreme sacrifice, a ninth who was captured, held as a POW, then repatriated to the U.S. and two who completed their tour of duty and celebrated “Victory in Europe Day” at their airfield at Bungay, England. Scores of books have been written featuring the famous American military men of WWII. Stories about Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, MacArthur, Arnold, LeMay, Marshall, Doolittle et al abound and can be found on the bookshelves of any library or bookstore. But, it was the ordinary ‘Joes’, the men NOT found within the pages of those books, who won that world-changing war with their “blood, guts and grit”. The crewmen of the “Bangin’ Lulu” and the 'Queen of Angels' were these men… the ordinary ‘Joes’ performing extraordinary acts under nearly impossible conditions. They are more than the faceless names now found engraved in granite headstones or cast on bronze plaques. They are the husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, grandsons, uncles and nephews of the many heart-broken families and friends they left behind. They knew joy and sorrow, hope and despair, peace and anger; trust and fear ~ they loved and were loved. Three survived to marry and see children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. But eight died too young, leaving much of their own life stories unwritten. The point is… all these young men did live and do have stories… stories that should never be forgotten with the passage of time… stories that should be told, retold, remembered and honored. “In Honored Glory…” shares this journey ~ a journey similarly traveled by hundreds of thousands of USAAF aircrews, ground crews and other American soldiers, both men and women, which saw its end nearly seventy-four years ago. This is not just their story... it also is our story. For without these men and women's selfless dedication and sacrifice, we would be living in a vastly different country... and world today. "For one to know where they are going... one must understand where they have been." Welcome to the journeys of the men of the “Bangin’ Lulu” and 'Queen of Angels'...
