My dad flew as a navigator (on some missions lead navigator) of B-24s in the last 5 months of WWII. But all the fellows he trained most closely with, the guys he became personally closest with, died in a mid-air explosion before my dad flew a single combat mission (my dad opted out of what was supposed to be a pleasant free day-trip from England to Ireland). This book helped me to understand my father's never-ending sense of loss and regret.

There has probably never been a more masterful account of what these young men went through, and the risks they took, in the combat mode of the massive campaign to cripple the Nazi war infrastructure from lumbering, unpressurized bomb-ships 30,000 feet in the sky. The comradeship among the crews is what comes through most clearly in Childer's remarkably poignant book. That, plus the randomness of the winnowing-out process that took so many of these brave airmen. The loss of Childer's uncle and several of his crew mates was especially pathetic, and not only because of the proximity of the end of the war.

There are very few books written, and even fewer read, that will motivate or so move a reader to go to unusual lengths to want to know or try and understand who the protagonist of the story really was;who he must have been. This is just such a book, and this is no ordinary story. First, and foremost, it is a true personal account of one of thousands of American young men from a typical all American small town of the 1940's, who had everything going for him in his small southern town, with a bright future before him. Sports, a steady girl, maybe college. But the war in Europe and Pearl Harbor interrupted that future for Howard Goodner and the many like him. He stood on a train platform one morning and,like so many others, kissed his mother goodbye, assured her he'd be alright and went off to the army to become an aviator. But not everyone who trained could sit in that pilot or co-pilot's seat of the new B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. This amazing story is taken from the letters of SGT. Howard Goodner to his mother, and found, quite by accident, by Professor Thomas Childers locked in a desk, that Howard's mother, Childers' grandmother, had left for him upon her death. The letters, stuck in a drawer that must have been much too painful to open, describes in vivid detail the complete stateside training of a typical B-24 aircrew...the selection process,the daily routines, the nuances of the B-24, the incredible training accident rates and the midair accidents that Howard witnesses, that kill 10-20 men at a time, before even leaving the United States. The narrative is compelling and written so well that you feel that you are getting to know Howard Goodner as he operates the radio on board his plane and interacts with his crew. Goodner describes what a B-24 aircrew was like, personally, on the ground and in the air. The men in his crew...the quiet ones, the screwballs and the crewmember they even vote off the airplane. He describes the terror of the missions and the relief of seeing that home base runway. This is perhaps the best description of the training, deployment, combat and daily life in wartime England of an average WW2 American bomber aircrew ever written. The story is also a family one. Goodner's brother in law, also an airman, is within bike riding distance of his airfield in England and they often meet after either one returns from a mission over Germany or Holland. They write letters home telling of seeing each other and that all is okay, until the day that Howard's ship, The Black Cat, does not return from a mission. The entire crew but one is lost and the family's share an anguish for years afterward that Childer's describes in one of the few "Gold Star" families accounts you will read. Childer's writes movingly of the families of the crew as they desperately attempt to learn something from the War Department. Childer's narrative is such that you can feel the fear as though the fateful telegram is arriving at your own door. Victor Davis Hanson describes in his "Ripples of Battle" the ramifications of lives lost in wartime and the ripple effects, we almost never consider, on the surviving families. His theory is spot on in "Wings of Morning." It is a moving story of a nephew,Childers,who, decades later and against astronomical odds finds the lone survivor of the Black Cat and persuades him to return to England to a quiet deserted, unused airfield, where machines of war once roared and hundreds of men lived and worked. You will thrill as they find the cement pad where the Black Cat crew hut once stood and where Childer's uncle may have even had his bunk. You will become emotional when the surviving crewmember, now a senior citizen, while on the commercial flight into Germany to find the crash site of the Black Cat,tells Childers, "The last time I flew here was that day, with your uncle." The fatal flight was only two weeks before the war in Europe ended. This is a human history, a detailed incisive aviation history and a truly American family story. After reading this book I was so moved, unlike any book I have read of this period, that I drove to Cleveland, Tennessee with a colleague who also had read the book. We went to "Find" Howard Goodner. We saw all the surprisingly surviving places that Howard knew and that Prof. Childers describes in the book. The old hotel, the soda shop and even the old train platform where he said good-bye. Finally, we found Sgt. Howard Goodner. Or rather, he found us. Why we turned into that particular cemetery of the three that serviced the area we didn't know, and although we searched for his grave, after three hours searching in the hot sun we were ready to give up and drive the three hours home. We had ranged far from where we parked our car on the top of a hill and were heading back up to retrieve it, when just five feet from the car, we "accidentally" found the grave of SGT. Howard Goodner. Or, did we? We thanked him for his service and his sacrifice and we thanked Prof. Childers for writing such a vivid, moving and accurately engaging account of the short life of an average American hero.

A fascinating but tragic story of a US bomber crew that almost made it home safely. The war in Europe was in its closing days and they were assigned to make one of the last bombing raids over Germany and were shot down, only two survived. The author is a wonderful and gifted writer who describes the story of his uncle, the radio opeator on the B24, his enlistment in the Air Corp, the training, the close bond that develops with the other crew members, the terror of flying through enemy flak and fighting off German Fighters. It is a heart rending story wonderfully written.

John Brennan

Through the years, I've read a number of histories and memoirs on the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Many of those volumes, published over 6 decades, were more authoritative, complete, wide-ranging, and fact-filled than this volume.

Yet if I had to recommend a SINGLE book to give someone the flavor of all of those experiences represented by all those many books, this would be the one.

WINGS OF MORNING is an exceptional effort. The writing is wonderful; the information and tales presented colorful and telling. The author has a level of talent given only to a handful of non-fiction writers - the ability of a poet, to flash insights of feeling while describing facts. It's in the class of Bruce Catton and David McCullough.

In a plain and straight-forward manner, and without resorting to any plot gimmicks or other devices, this book wrings the reader through an emotional journey that doesn't start or stop around VE-Day. It is a *wise* book; informed by age and living.

I recommend it to everyone.

This book had a personal effect on my relationship between myself and my grandfather.
I was researching the history of my grandfather's air wing when this book came out. After I read this book I sent a copy to my grandfather and it reopened a rich set of memories that he had filed away.
Of all the WW2 books I have read this is easily one of the best. It tells the heartfelt story of a group of young brave men.
The way the book begins with the memories of the author is most compelling. His description of the room of color just absolutely grabs you. I still get chills thinking about it.

When my grandfather returned to Eagleville Tn it wasn't considered polite to discuss the war. Cliff got back to living. He went to college, raised a family and he didn't discuss it for 50 years. After reinvigorating his memories from this fine, amazing book we had long discussions on his role as a tail gunner.
I later took a trip to Norwich to visit the memorial library and tour the remains of the air base (It's now a turkey farm!) and videotaped it for my grandfather who couldn't come due to the declining health of my grandmother.
We were able to determine that my grandfather's hut was in all likelihood the hut these men moved into when they arrived. We determined this from the dates in the book and the guide's knowledge of the site.

When Cliff's 35 missions were over he packed up and went home at the same time this ill fated crew arrived. Looks like timing is everything.

I also got to take Cliff to the reunion of wing at Charleston in the 8th Air Force Museum which is a worthwhile trip in itself.

If you have any dreams to visit these sites, take action now. The only regrets you will have is not doing it sooner before these great men and women are not around to answer your questions any more.
Thanks for your patience with this personal account.

This book is evidence of an America that will possibility never be again. An America where new immigrants and immigrants with a hundred years to their credit stood together in a life and death struggle. Where men from all sides of the track faced down the wickedness of a world gone.

This great book is a view of heroes who never expected to be and even today will not accept that designation -the only true character of a real hero.

Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II is one of the best-researched WWII stories to ever see print. But, what other than this could we expect from a historian of Dr. Childer's caliber? Well we did get more; much more, we were provided the opportunity to perceive a boy's love for an uncle he had never met and that is what puts heart into these pages. A warning here: on your reading your eyes may tear... but fear not the tears for there is no better eyewash.

There is not much more I can say without giving away the book, and I would never do that. What I will say is read Wings of Morning and you will soon be plunked down on the hardstand in the English countryside watching as Howard and his bothers-in-arms enter the Black Cat, looking back one last time as if to say "duty calls... see you later"...
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I would conservatively estimate that I have read 500 books on WWII, and this would rate in the top three. I cannot recall a book that more completely gripped me from start to finish. Childers' unique "first person" story telling breathes life into young men that have long passed from this world. Through dialogue that seems very easy to accept as real, he makes us love and respect these true American heroes, and then causes us to feel the loss (albeit a minute fraction) that their families and friends felt almost sixty years ago. I cannot recommend a book more highly, even if you are not a WWII scholar. If you are, it is a MUST read.

I'm obviously sticking my neck way out on this one because I am only halfway through the book! My father served with the 8th Air Force, so I've read many books on the subject; this is one of the best accounts--if not the best I've found.
If my opinion changes by the end of the book, I will edit the review, but so far, "Wings of Morning" is an excellent read!

This is undoubtedly the best of the modern nonfiction books about World War II bomber life to have been written by someone who wasn't there. The author did an outstanding job of researching the events leading up to his uncle's death and out his knowledge of German to good use to determine the actual circumstances under which he died. While this is a great detective story, WINGS OF MORNING is also an excellent venue for allowing the uninitiated to understand the details of the life of a military flight crew, particular those who flew heavy bombers in World War II.

Sam McGowan
Author, "The Cave", a novel of the Vietnam War

This book was actually given to me by a navigator who flew with the 8th air force in WW II. I have read many of the historical works of that period, but this is in my opinion the best. It is an extremely well chronicled, emotionally gut wrenching account of the lives, relationships, and ultimate deaths of some extroadinary men. I am amazed that this book has not received more publicity.It should be included on any book group's list as well as the syllabus of any history course dealing with the war

The writing style of this author is as vivid as any. He reconstructs the life of not only his uncle Howard but also of the crewman of "The Black Cat". You will feel intimately close to all these men, and it can leave you with a sinking feeling as you know of the fate of this aircraft. This is not a Hollywood ending, nor is it exceptionally sad, it is just the realities of WWII, told in a frank and descriptive style that will allow the reader to fully grasp the camaraderie and cohesion that goes on among the crew of a B-24. Even this is not without difficulty as one crewmember becomes increasingly withdrawn and violent, eventually leading to his removal from the crew. A searing and unforgettable book that will allow you into world of a bomber crew based in England. This book goes far beyond the scope of just bombing missions over Germany, but explores the childhoods and recreation time of these soldiers before their fateful mission.

I sent this book to a pilot of 35 missions over Germany in WWII, and he told me via E-mail that the writing was great and the research excellent. From the voice of experience. A wonderful book.