With Memorial Day still in focus, the McComb library will host a book-signing event that reflects upon the life and death of a B-17 gunner and his crewmates during World War II.
To honor his uncle and to preserve his memory, Tony Crawford, a self-published author, will be on hand at the library for a booksigning from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursday. Crawford will sign autographs for fans of his recently published book and ebook, entitled “The Search for Miss Deal and The Early Raiders on The Reich.”
In the book, Crawford explores the true story of his uncle and several other B-17 crewmembers as they fought perilous battles thousands of feet above the German landscape in World War II.
The book deals with the haunting memory of the downing of one B-17 bomber in particular, and the uncertain fate of soldiers who went to war, and then were unaccounted for as the years went on.
Charlie “Charles” Crawford’s plane was hit by flak fire upon departing Hamburg, Germany, after a bombing raid. As the pilot attempted to conceal the plane within the clouds, clear weather eventually exposed the B-17 to attack from German fighter planes. Crawford, who was a radio operator and gunner, was injured during the attack and was unable to escape the downed plane as it crashed into the Dollard Sea near the Holland-Germany border on June 25, 1943.
Six men survived the crash; Crawford’s body was never recovered and his family was notified that he was listed as missing in action. Crawford remains listed as MIA.
The politicians and military leaders of the time, Tony Crawford writes in his book, “realized that to gain air superiority it would simply be a war of attrition.”
What would follow from that mindset would be the loss of nearly all B-17s and their crews; replacement crews would come to outnumber the number of original flyers on base.
“You can imagine. It was a terribly stressful time. There would be several new faces that the crew had to get used to for each additional mission. This meant that former crew members had died.”
In 1999, Tony Crawford started searching for crewmates and their families who were mentioned in Charlie’s letters to his grandmother during the war. That quest for answers picked up steam when Crawford elicited help from his daughter, Erin Langley.
“My grandmother had a lot of information that helped us get started. Once (Charlie) went missing, she recieved a listing of all crewmembers that Charlie served with. Between that and the letters my grandmother held onto, this is how we got started,” Tony Crawford said.
This helped Crawford and his daughter locate the crewmembers or family of the crew, sometimes both. From this, Tony was able to begin piecing together the account of his uncle, as well as other crewmembers.
“To me, he was a hero. When you are young, these are the kind of people you look up to,” he said. “Since he was my uncle, I have always been intrigued by his story and wanted to know more.”
Proceeds from the book will go toward Crawford’s efforts to raise enough money to support the recovery of the plane. Crawford hopes this, in turn, will lead to the return of his uncle and the pilot’s bodies, so that they can eventually be buried at home with family members.
Crawford is hopeful that the timing of the event, just three days after Memorial Day, will attract area veterans and draw a large crowd.
“This is an intriguing story. And it’s true. I think there are people out there that can relate to this.”
The self-published book is available on amazon.com, booksamillion.com, barnes&noble.com or direct from the publishers by clicking on https://www.createspace.com/4417958.
