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Vanished Hero

The Life, War and Mysterious Disappearance of America’s WWII Strafing King

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Vanished Hero

Written by: Jay A. Stout
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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About this listen

A hell-bent-for-leather fighter pilot, Elwyn G. Righetti remains one of the most unknown, yet compelling, colorful, and controversial commanders of World War II.

Arriving late to the war, he led the England-based 55th Fighter Group against the Nazis during the closing months of the fight with a no-holds-barred aggressiveness that transformed the group from a middling organization of no reputation into a headline-grabbing team that had to make excuses to no one. Indeed, Righetti's boldness paid off as he quickly achieved ace status and additionally scored more strafing victories - 27 - than any other Eighth Air Force pilot.

However, success came at a high cost in men and machines. Some of Righetti's pilots resented him as a Johnny-come-lately intent on winning a sack of medals at their expense. But most lauded their spirited new commander and his sledgehammer audacity. Indeed, he made his men most famous for "loco busting", as they put more than 600 enemy locomotives out of commission - 170-in just two days!

Ultimately, Righetti's calculated recklessness ran full speed into the odds. His aircraft was hit while strafing an enemy airfield only four days before the 55th flew its last mission.

©2016 Jay Stout (P)2017 Tantor Armed Forces Wars & Conflicts World War II Military War Air Force Transportation US Air Force Aviation
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What the critics say

"Vanished Hero is a welcome addition to military biography collections, and highly recommended for both public library collections and personal reading lists." ( Midwest Book Review)

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Without a trace

An interesting account of a forgotten hero who undoubtedly would have been known as one of the top scoring fighter pilots of WW2 had he survived the war. Though not a top scorer of arial kills, he was the king of strafing. Scoring more planes on the ground than any other pilot. His is a story deserving of an ending to an almost 80 year old mystery.

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