Steve Snyder has done a magnificent job of producing a tribute to the B-17 crews of the Eighth Air Force generally, and the people of the Resistance in Occupied Europe. The story he has to tell is based on the recollections and contemporary letters of his father Howard Snyder. His wartime career was in itself remarkable, for he began flying during some of the most dangerous days of bombing in 1943 before the long-range fighters arrived, but then successfully ‘baled out’ of his burning aircraft and ended up joining the Resistance.
But “Shot Down” goes much further than recount one man’s adventures. Steve Snyder paints a fully rounded picture of all the events during this period, from what it was like to train as a pilot and then join a Bomb Group, through to what it was like to live in wartime Britain, and then later find oneself on the run in occupied Europe. He follows the fortunes of the other members of the crew who were shot down at the same time – and in doing so tells us about the fate of men who were not as fortunate to find sanctuary as his father was.
– See more at: Steve Snyder: Shot Down
