Beneath Haunted Waters: The Tragic Tale of Two B-24s Lost in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during World War II

Beneath Haunted Waters is the tale of waters in the High Sierra haunted by generations of people who cannot forget the story of how two B-24 Liberator bombers disappeared in 1943 and what happened to the boys on board.

During World War II the USA lost 7,100 combat aircraft and 5,300 trainers, along with 15,530 pilots, crew members, and ground personnel in over 52,000 domestic accidents. Between 1942-1945, US aviation losses to accidents (12,400) exceeded combat losses (4,500) to the Japanese. For every plane shot down in the South Pacific there were three lost to accidents within the United States.

While memoirs of those who served, histories of military and political leaders, and books about combat abound, very little has been written about the terrible toll of aviation training accidents during the war. Beneath Haunted Waters tells this unknown and unappreciated story.

Peter Stekel is the author of Final Flight, the Mystery of a World War II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra (Wilderness Press), Best Hikes Near Seattle (Falcon Guides), Best Wildflower Hikes Western Washington (Falcon Guides), and a mystery novel, The Flower Lover.

He has published feature stories in more than 700 magazines and newspapers, including articles on aviation, science and nature, Olympic sports, outdoor adventure and recreation, history, theatre arts and entertainment, and celebrity profiles.

In 1975, Stekel received a B.A. in botany from the University of California, Davis. He conducted graduate work in ecology at Humboldt State University and in 1982 received a secondary teaching credential in life science. He has worked as an educator, outdoor adventure guide, laboratory technician, botanist, and plant ecologist.

He lives in Seattle, Washington.