About
the Author
Kenneth K. Blyth resides in Naples, Florida, having retired
after 40 years with the CSX Railroad Corporation. From 1942 to 1945 he was a Flying
Officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, piloting a crew of seven in a Halifax
four-engine bomber.
Blyth's first book, Cradle Crew, takes the reader through
the flight training of the youngest crew at 408 Squadron and on the 19 missions
they flew over enemy territory during WWII. The book also describes the crew's
experiences in Stalag Luft 1
Description
The
author's search to find the ME 262 German pilot who shot down his plane in WWII
brings two cultures together. Blyth, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, details
WWII history, life in Stalag Luft 1, and his investigation of a 60-year-old mystery.
A wealth of historical photos are also included. |
Excerpt
from the book: "Another
POW, George Lesko, co-pilot of a B 24, had promised himself, when he originally
left Barth, that he would return one day, and take off and land on the same runway.
He was so sure that he would be able to do this that he brought along his son,
Greg, who is an independent movie producer/director, to film his experiences.
Five
POW returnees to the first Barth Reunion -(L to R) John Virgil Colson, Leland
Smith (both deceased), George Lesko, Barth activist Helga Radau, Kenneth Blyth
and Bruce Bochstanz. |
George Lesko,
co-pilot of a B-24 from the 446th Bomb Group, followed Leland
to the podium. George-a very dapper, charismatic, outgoing
individual, who was always wearing a business suit-moved
easily among all those attending. George had continued flying
after the war. He had accumulated some 10,000 hours on all
types of aircraft. George had been shot down over Saarbruecken
on a raid to Ludwigshaven. Their aircraft, Ginger, had crash-landed
in France. The entire crew bailed out of the B-24 and landed
safely. Later, George was to learn that their pilot, a man
named Shaffer, had disappeared. George presumed Shaffer
received the same fate as five other members of the crew
-shot through the neck by the Germans, after they had surrendered.
George and three other crew members survived. After a short
stay at the Oberursel Interrogation Center, he was placed
in Stalag Luft 1. It was when the 381st Bomb Group brought
him home from the war that George made the promise to himself
about one day flying into and out of Barth.
It
should have been simple to lease a small aircraft at the Barth airport for this
exercise. Not so. Several different sources were explored by George and Roland
Geiger to obtain such permission. Typical bureaucratic red tape started to build
up considerable exasperation for George and his son, Greg; but when one knows
who to talk to, it is surprising how simple it can be. One phone call from Helga
Radau to Juergen Brune-one of the air controllers at Barth, and arrangements were
quickly made. When the Cessna arrived from Magdeburg, the flight only took some
ten minutes and, after two passes at the runway, George landed it. The pilot had
allowed George full control of the take- off and landing, giving him an exciting
conclusion to a fifty-year dream. To top it all off, they gave him a discount
on the rental price as a former U.S. Air Force member, on behalf of the German
air force. Greg, who'd been filming many of the stories told at the conference,
documented his father's flight to incorporate it into a film for TV."
|
