The Last Mission of the Wham Bam Boys: Courage, Tragedy, and Justice in World War II

Another outstanding book from Gregory Freeman. I read Wham Bam Boys right on the heels of Freeman's The Forgotten 500. Freeman is not only a good writer, but also has a knack for picking really intriguing stories. Both of these two books are among the best books I have read in a long time. I even convinced my wife to read The Forgotten 500; she doesn't normally like war books, but was really impressed by this one. Having been gripped by those two, I just finished a long cruise where I also read three other of his titles: Lay This Body Down, Troubled Water, and Sailors to the End.All five books were well worth reading---I would rate Forgotten 500 and Wham Bam Boys at the top, closely followed by Lay This Body Down, and then Sailors to the End and Troubled Water.I will eagerly await coming new titles from Gregory Freeman.

This is the detailed account of how a German civilian mob descended upon a helpless POW US bomber crew and the horror of what happened. Freeman is a great writer and has done thorough research on the fate of each man and the German women and men of the frenzied mob who committed a murderous act so brutal that even the average SS man would cringe. The story is well developed and you get to know the crew of the WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAM. You also get to know the facts of what the German civilians of Ruesselsheim experienced in the previous nights RAF bombing to their city. "Bomber" Harris commander of the RAF bomber force sought to break the will of the Germans by indiscriminately fire bombing German cities each night. The will of the Ruesselheim population was not broken but in this horrifying documented episode the social fabric and moral order of a particular population of Germans unraveled and the animal rage that erupted resulted in a war crime almost too terrible to think about. But to honor the victims Freeman recreates with great exactitude the fate of these doomed airmen step by step as it unfolded. His account of the Dachau Trial of the Germans who committed the crime is in itself an important illustration of how we Americans melt out justice to the vanquished and I feel the military court was thorough and just. I highly recommend this to be read and it ought to be a movie.

Meticulously researched. Never realized this happened in Russelsheim when I was a military policeman there in 1987/1988. Good read. I give it a 3.5. I would give it a 5 if it explored how the US Army, Azbill Barracks and the post war order played a role in Russelsheim for 50 years literall a few blocks away. The research that went into this book probably earns the text a 4.0, maybe higher, but the author used lots of verbiage that just didn't frame things in an unbiased manner. The facts of this book are researched very well, particularly the court portions. The first half of the book sets up the horror these young airmen experienced. The second half of the book lays out an amazing legal drama. A good read that if it tied everything together could have been a great read.

I thought this book did a good job of telling a story which needs to be told and retold. In an interesting and thought provoking manner. The length was almost perfect for me. Just the right amount of background and movement.

Gave as goft

Outstanding read about ordeal of the 9 crew members of the Wham Bam. Six paid the ultimate price of German revenge from the terror bombings of their homeland. Leon Jaworski prosecuted 11 of the townspeople in the first of war crime tribunals before Nuremberg war crime trials. Highly recommend this read.

As with his other books the author's attention to detail is greatly appreciate. His books flow with ease and are hard to put down.

At the time of the Wham Bam incident I was flying combat missions with a fighter-bomber unit. One of my fellow pilots had a forced landing and we learned he was murdered. Years later the perpetrators were caught, tried by a Military Tribunal and executed. Thus I made a very personal connection to the Freeman book and I applaud the results.As for those who choose to believe that the Allied bombing campaign invited- even justified- the treatment of the Wham Bam airmen, I can only suggest they tend to overlook who we were fighting; an agressor nation that introduced the bombing of populations centers such as Warsaw and Rotterdam.Let me also add that the Germans were convicted partly through the testimony of citizens of Russelsheim who were appalled at what they had witnessed. And that the affair was reopened in 1985 by citizens of Russelsheim who erected a marker identifying those Americans who were assaulted and murdered; a way of asking forgivness, I believe, for the sins of earlier Germans.

Great Story - Like all Freeman Books it looks at a topic that most know nothing about