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

Stekel, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1493025309 ISBN 13: 9781493025305

Publisher: Lyons Press, 2017

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

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.

Review:

Praise for Final Flight by Peter Stekel:

"An invigorated appreciation of the dedication of the men and women of the Greatest Generation."--Michael Sledge, author of Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen.

"Peter Stekel has captured the history, geography, and the mystery surrounding this inspiring tale of the High Sierra."--G. Pat Macha, author of Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of California.

"Stekel has breathed warm life into these long lost World War II airmen who disappeared while on a training mission in 1942. Entombed in High Sierra glacial ice for more than sixty years before being discovered by climbers and the author himself, Stekel skillfully weaves the crew's fate in these rugged mountains with his own quest to unravel the mystery."--Eric Blehm, best-selling author of The Last Season and The Only Thing Worth Dying For.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1493025309
• ISBN 13: 9781493025305
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328