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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II Hardcover - 2014

by William L. Smallwood

From the publisher

During the Second World War, a b-17 tailgunner had a one-in-four chance of survival during his standard twenty-five-mission tour. Valor, Guts, and Luck is the story of Staff Sergeant Lowell "Slats" Slayton (1923-2013), who beat those odds.

An underprivileged kid from Fargo, North Dakota, Slayton was a high school senior the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Drawn to the glamour of the "wild blue yonder" made famous by newsreels, he joined the Army Air Force. Eventually he found himself on an unlucky thirteenth mission to the main fw-190 fighter-aircraft plant in Oschersleben, Germany. After being hit by a rocket, his plane left the protection of the formation and was immediately attacked by a swarm of fighter-aircraft, resulting in damage that forced a crash landing in Germany.

Slayton, though wounded, survived the crash landing and spent time in three hospitals and two pow camps and then endured a 300-plus mile trek from Poland to western Germany during one of the coldest winters on record. Through Slayton's recollections, William L. Smallwood conveys the riveting tales of life in the Air Corps, aerial combat, and the horrific experiences of a prisoner of war. Through it all, Slayton's valor, guts, and luck made it possible for him to enjoy a homecoming after the war.

Details

  • Title Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II
  • Author William L. Smallwood
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 208
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Potomac Books, Dulles, VA, U.S.A.
  • Date 2014-06-15
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Dust Cover, Illustrated
  • ISBN 9781612346922 / 1612346928
  • Weight 0.88 lbs (0.40 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.89 x 5.84 x 0.82 in (22.58 x 14.83 x 2.08 cm)
  • Themes
    • Aspects (Academic): Military
    • Chronological Period: 1940's
  • Dewey Decimal Code 940.544

About the author

WILLIAM L. SMALLWOOD is the author of numerous books, including McClure of Idaho and two military book club selections, Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War and Strike Eagle: Flying the F15E in the Gulf War, both available from Potomac Books.

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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II

by Smallwood, William L.

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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II

by William L. Smallwood

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Valor, Guts, and Luck : A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck : A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II

by Smallwood, William L

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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II

by Smallwood, William L

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HARDBACK, ?UNCOMMON,? SHIPPED FROM THE UK* Edn: 1st.* Imp: 1st.* Date of Publication: 2014* Publisher: Potomac Books.* Binding and cover condition: Black cloth, gilt title to spine. No bumps, rubs or shelf wear. FINE, AS NEW.* Jacket condition: Mono illustrated dust wrapper sepia-tone portrait photo and b/w photo crashed B17, black and red titles to face, with black and white titles to spine. NOT PRICE CLIPPED, showing a shelf price of $24.95. No marks or visible faults. Now in clear protective wrapper. FINE, AS NEW.* Contents condition: PRIVATE COPY NOT EX-LIBRARY. Clean, crisp, tight and bright with no reading wear, no marks to text, no age or tanning no visible faults. Seems un-used. FINE, AS NEW.* Illustrations: One block of 10pp. b/w photos, and one diagram at page 94-95.* Pages: 176 pp. text. viii pp., blank pages at rear.* Description: Slat?s Slayton was drawn into the Army by seductive war-time advertising & he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, eventually finding himself on an ill-fated… Read More
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story during World War II

by William L. Smallwood

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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II

Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II

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Hardback. New. During the Second World War, a B-17 tailgunner's odds of surviving the 25 missions necessary before he could return home was 26 percent. Facing this lamentable one-in-four survival probability, Staff Sergeant Lowell "Slats" Slayton beat the odds. In Valor, Guts, and Luck, William L. Smallwood shares Slats' dramatic experience.
Item Price
NZ$54.77
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II

Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II

  • New
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Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781612346922 / 1612346928
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Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
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Hardback. New. During the Second World War, a B-17 tailgunner's odds of surviving the 25 missions necessary before he could return home was 26 percent. Facing this lamentable one-in-four survival probability, Staff Sergeant Lowell "Slats" Slayton beat the odds. In Valor, Guts, and Luck, William L. Smallwood shares Slats' dramatic experience.
Item Price
NZ$65.67
NZ$21.19 shipping to USA
Valor, Guts, and Luck – A B–17 Tailgunner`s Survival Story during World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck – A B–17 Tailgunner`s Survival Story during World War II

by Smallwood, William L.

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  • Hardcover
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Binding
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781612346922 / 1612346928
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II
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Valor, Guts, and Luck: A B-17 Tailgunner's Survival Story During World War II

by Smallwood, William L

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781612346922 / 1612346928
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