{"product_id":"one-mission-to-ploesti-a-world-war-ii-adventure-of-an-airmans-escape-and-rescue-9781647198428","title":"One Mission to Ploesti: A World War II adventure of an airman's escape and rescue","description":"\u003cp\u003eLost among the great stories of World War II was the escape and rescue of hundreds of Allied airmen shot down over German-occupied Yugoslavia. Their target had been the vital Axis oil fields at Ploesti, Romania. Robert P. Moore and his B-17 crewmates were among the first wave of high altitude bombing raids that intensified in April, 1944.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnemy flak and engine trouble brought down their aircraft short of the target. It was Moore's first mission, in an unfamiliar aircraft, with a crew he had met only moments before take-off. He bailed out into a completely unknown and rugged country, and was confronted by local militia carrying axes and firearms. The men were part of a larger nationalist army-Chetniks. Fiercely anti-communist, the Chetniks desperately wanted Allied help. The Chetniks guided Moore and hundreds of other airmen, traveling in rugged mountains to get them to a safe zone for rescue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoore and his airmen bailed out into a country that was at war with itself as well as the Germans. The Chetniks under the leadership of Gen. Draja Mihailovich were engaged not only in a war with the Nazi occupiers, they were also at odds with an army of their fellow countrymen, called Partisans, under the leadership of communist-leaning Josip Tito. Mihailovich and his Chetniks, in part to show solidarity with the Allies, guided downed American airmen to a secret airstrip in the mountains south of Belgrade. Mihailovich and American intelligence cooperated in Operation Halyard, the secret mission to rescue almost 500 airman and return them to their base.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the war, many of the surviving airmen shared their story with family and friends. A few wrote about their adventure, and a few of those stories made it into print. Moore's hometown newspaper ran a lengthy piece shortly after his return. Now has Moore put together the complete experience, as a way to honor his wartime crewmen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Booklocker.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50452863025426,"sku":"9781647198428","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_01929c57-9a58-45b0-991e-00b4a51d35eb.jpg?v=1729825268","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/one-mission-to-ploesti-a-world-war-ii-adventure-of-an-airmans-escape-and-rescue-9781647198428","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}