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MWSA Review
When Heroes Flew: The Shangri-La Raiders by H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is a gripping, mesmerizing tale of young Lieutenant Ray Howzer in the Army Air Corps who, along with his crew, has a place in history. Author Bernard crafts a well-researched story with endearing characters who participated in a harrowing raid on Japan during World War II.
Drawing upon the true story of Colonel Jimmy Doolittle and his Raiders, the author gives us a detailed look at the secretive mission these young men willingly accepted on behalf of their country. The crews were chosen, they were trained, they faced incredible tasks to achieve the impossible: take off from an aircraft carrier in a fully loaded B-25 medium bomber, skim the ocean waves, and bomb Tokyo.
The tale is told through the eyes of Lt. Howzer, nicknamed “Boss,” who receives a Dear John letter and struggles with lovesickness throughout his training. After completing the mission, “Boss,” and his crew fly their B-25 bomber, Bitter Route, into China as the needle on the fuel gauge approaches empty. They know they won’t make it to the predetermined landing spot, and one by one, as directed by “Boss” they don their parachutes and bail out over China. Each of the men pray that they don’t land in Japanese occupied territory where they would surely and swiftly be executed.
On the ground, but separated, the crew struggles to walk through bamboo fields to meet up and make their way to the house of a missionary family. One of the men is seriously injured in his landing. The missionaries assist the crew of the Bitter Route with the twenty-year-old daughter using her first aid skills to do what she can for the injured man. A budding romance ensues and the plot thickens as the Japanese occupiers hunt both the crew and the people that help them.
When Heroes Flew: The Shangri-La Raider captures the spirit of The Greatest Generation and is a captivating tale of bravery, determination, and an unlikely love that will keep you hooked until the very end.
Review by Nancy Panko (February 2022)
Author's Synopsis
Inspired by the true story of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle’s raid on Japan in 1942, The Shangri-La Raiders is the next stunning installment of the When Heroes Flew WWII historical fiction series.
This gripping novel follows an American bomber crew through their secretive training, a harrowing raid on Japan, and on their desperate journey through occupied China to Chungking, the seat of the country’s wartime government.
The crew, along with an American missionaries’ daughter whom they’ve rescued, must evade the Japanese occupiers every step of the way. And amidst all the horror and turmoil of war, a romance blossoms between the rescued woman and the crew’s pilot.
When Heroes Flew: The Shangri-La Raiders is a captivating tale of bravery, determination and an unlikely love that will leave you hooked until the very end.
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 286