Eleven Two: One WWII Airman's Story of Capture, Survival and Freedom

ELEVEN TWO: One WWII Airman’s Story of Capture, Survival and Freedom Not just two words, not just two numbers. Rather… two numbers, combined to form one date. One significant date – three times by chance – the fourth time by choice, with the publishing of this book. The month is NOVEMBER. The day is the SECOND. The story of the importance of the day follows in the pages of this book. One Date. One Story. One Life… Changed Forever. Frank A. Kravetz remembers: "I received a warning through my radio headset that enemy fighters were spotted at 3:00 high headed straight for our plane. In the next instant, three single-seat German fighters were zooming around, hell bent on their hunt to zero in on our crippled B-17. There was no time to avoid their concentrated attack. Flying at blazing speeds of 200 mph, the enemy FW-190s were quickly in my range of vision and I opened fire, rapidly exchanging shots, blasting my .50 caliber machine gun with great intensity. The firefight lasted only moments. Soon the fighters were spiraling out of sight – gone in a flash. Within seconds and without notice, I saw a second wave of three fighters again attacking our plane from the rear. I saw the face of the pilot seated in the cockpit of the lead fighter plane coming directly at me, 20 mm bullets blazing from his wing guns. A shot came bursting through the plane’s exterior, ripping deep into my leg, the explosion filling the tail compartment with thick black smoke…"