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| The following inscription appears on a grave marker in St. Ann's cemetery in Sayville, New York, on Long Island: |
In Memory of Robert Perkins Post Correspondent New York Times Born September 8, 1910 Killed in air attack over Wilhelmshaven February 26, 1943 Buried in U.S. Military Cemetery Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium |
This marker, placed in the Post family plot by Bob Post's father, was the inspiration for this book. This explicit epitaph provided the starting point for six years of research and writing. I came across it by accident one day in 1993 on a stroll with my infant son. I had no prior knowledge of the Post family and am not related to any of the participants. | From the beginning, my goal has been to answer a basic question: Why would the military let a journalist ride along on a World War II bombing mission? Beyond that: Why would anyone who didn't have to go along, choose to go along? | As the story unfolded I found that other journalists had participated in the mission, including three well-known figures in American newspaper and television journalism: Homer Bigart, Walter Cronkite, and Andy Rooney. The stories they wrote about the mission were compelling and thought provoking. In addition to the journalists, several military participants also wrote accounts, most amazingly the German pilot who shot down Bob Post's plane. Pieces of this mission were even caught on film: Hollywood director William Wyler accompanied the mission while filming the movie "The Memphis Belle." | Post's father wrote letters to the families of all the crew members, which provided background on the aftermath of the mission and the search to discover the fate of the crew. Inquiries to military and civilian archives produced new information, as did contemporary newspaper and magazine articles. Numerous veterans wrote me with their remembrances. I received encouragement from friends and family members of both Post and the crew of the airplane he was on. I corresponded with several Germans from the town of Bad Zwischenahn (where the plane crashed) and Wilhelmshaven (where the planes dropped their bombs). In 1996 I visited the crash site. | Although Bob Post's death is a central theme of this book, the story goes beyond that. Many people died that day as a result of the raid, both in the air and on the ground. Through multiple perspectives, including those of military participants, journalists, and civilians, this book gives a comprehensive account of the bombing of Wilhelmshaven on February 26, 1943. | I owe a great debt to many individuals for their help in supporting this research. These acknowledgements appear in a separate chapter at the end of the book. |
Jim Hamilton Marshfield, Massachusetts December 1999 |