Flight of the Forgotten: A True Story of Heroism and Betrayal

Mark Vance

Mark Alan Vance, Apr 10, 2011 - History - 400 pages

Flight of the Forgotten is the true story of one of the most closely-guarded American military secrets of all time. It is intriguing, controversial and thought-provoking. The story traverses 50 years, two generations and the realities of our physical world. The triggering event is the tragic loss of an American Eighth Air Force bomber crew in 1945 under mysterious circumstances while enroute home after the end of World War II. The loss represents a 50-year-old aviation mystery, officially "forgotten" by the United States Government. Details described and amplified within the story remain permanently "buried" inside a top-secret O.S.S. file to this day. This book is a public counter to official efforts by the United States Government to have the events permanently erased from the public record. The author's extensive research indicates that those events involve murder, conspiracy and sabotage by the O.S.S., the forerunner to the modern CIA.

What people are saying

User Review -

Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite
Flight of the Forgotten by Mark A. Vance is one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. It is promoted as a true story of heroism and betrayal and Mark A. Vance makes a compelling case that this is what happened. I want to believe it. But to be fair, it is like any other fantastic account; I must take it with a grain of salt. At any rate, you should read it yourself and make up your own mind about these events. I am a little prejudiced. I have been in top secret government facilities. I have been involved in missions classified as top secret. I know these things exist. I also know that things are sometimes given the top secret label for all the wrong reasons. At the end of the day, I can say this: Flight of the Forgotten is well researched and very well written. It feels true. It sounds true. But it is also a very fantastical and difficult to believe story.
The writing in Flight of the Forgotten: A True Story of Heroism and Betrayal is good. It is not poetic or colorful. This is not that kind of story. The writing is descriptive yet factual. It fits the story perfectly. The characters are well drawn and seem very much like how I picture military men of that era to be. The events are fantastic but very believable. It could have been taken from one of those great pulp fiction magazines of the 30’s and 40’s. We all know that there are secrets out there and things that cannot be easily explained. What really happened to that B-24 Liberator may remain a mystery forever, but the story will survive thanks to this book. All in all, a well told tale. 

Contents

• Prologue: xxiii
• The Calling and the Quest: 1
• Second Generation Airman: 2
• A Conspiracy of Silence: 28
• Search and Discovery: 45
• The War Years: 62
• Mission Number Four: 64
• Mission Number Six: 104
• The OSS and Good vs Evil: 139
• Mission Number TwentyTwo: 167
• Combat Reflections: 202
• The Catalyst: 229
• When Johnny Comes Marching Home: 261
• The Setup: 287
• Down in Flames: 318
• Bury the File: 343
• Judgment Day: 369
• Judgment Day: 372

Bibliographic information

• Title: Flight of the Forgotten: A True Story of Heroism and Betrayal; Flight of the Forgotten Series
• Author: Mark Vance
• Publisher: Mark Alan Vance, 2011
• ISBN: 0615473768, 9780615473765
• Length: 400 pages
• Subjects: History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General; Religion / Spirituality