Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

unearthed heaps of AAF documents for me. I am also grateful to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clark, USAF (Ret.), at the Air Force Historical Studies Office, Bolling Air Force Base; Will Mahoney, Eric Van Slander, and Dave Giordano of the National Archives; Cathy Cox and Barry Spink of the Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base; and Carol Leadenham, assistant archivist for reference at the Hoover Institution Archives. I also thank my dear friend Colonel Michael C. Howard, USMC (Ret.), who worked with Captain William Rudich, USN (Ret.), Lieutenant Colonel Todd Holmquist, USMC, Major Heather Cotoia, USMC, Boatswain’s Mate Chief Frank Weber, USN (Ret.), and JimHeath, PhD, professor emeritus, Portland State University, to find information on Everett Almond, the navigator who was killed by a shark while trying to save himself and his pilot.
    Thanks also to Pete Golkin, Office of Communications, National Air and Space Museum; Midge Fischer, EAA Warbirds of America; Patrick Ranfranz, Greg Babinski, and Jim Walsh of the 307th Bomb Group Association; Lieutenant Commander Ken Snyder of the National Naval Aviation Museum; Rich Kolb and Mike Meyer of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; Helen Furu of the Norwegian Maritime Museum; Siri Lawson of WarSailors.com ; Phil Gudenschwager, 11th Bomb Group historian; Justin Mack, Web developer, 11th Bomb Group; Bill Barrette, Sugamo historian; Wayne Weber of the Billy Graham Center archives at Wheaton College; Melany Ethridge of Larry Ross Communications; Tess Miller and Heather VanKoughnett of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Shirley Ito, librarian, LA84 Foundation; Victoria Palmer, Georgetown Public Library; Edith Miller, Palo Alto High School; Wayne Wilson, vice president, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles; Lauren Walser of
USC Trojan Family
magazine; Cheryl Morris, Alumni Records, Princeton; Parker Bostwick of the
Torrance News Torch;
and Eric Spotts of Torrance High School.
    Others who assisted me include my dear friend Alan Pocinki, who has helped me in more ways than I can count; Linda Goetz Holmes, author of
Unjust Enrichment;
Hampton Sides, author of
Ghost Soldiers;
Morton Janklow; Dave Tooley; Karen and Russ Scholar; William Baker, professor emeritus, University of Maine; John Powers of NorthChinaMarines.com ; Ken Crothers; Christine Hoffman; Bud Ross; John Chapman; Robin Rowland; Ed Hotaling; Morton Cathro; Chris McCarron; Bob Curran; Mike Brown; Richard Glover; Jim Teegarden of pbyrescue.com ; Tom Gwynne of
Wingslip;
Cheryl Cerbone, editor,
Ex-POW Bulletin;
Clydie Morgan, Ex American Prisoners of War; Mike Stone of accident-report.com ; Dr. Stanley Hoffman; Kathy Hall; Jim Deasy; Captain Bob Rasmussen, USN (Ret.); Thorleif Andreassen; Janet McIlwain; Gary Staffo; Lynn Gamma; Patrick Hoffman; and Gene Venske.
    ——

    There are several people to whom I owe special thanks. My brother John Hillenbrand, a longtime private pilot, reviewed the aircraft and flying sections of my book with an extraordinarily careful eye and helped me understand the arcane details of aeronautics. My sister,Susan Avallon, read and reread the manuscript, offered invariably brilliant suggestions, and talked me through the places that had me stumped. Susan and John, I am so lucky to be your little sister. I also thank
EQUUS
magazine editor Laurie Prinz and my old Kenyon friend Chris Toft, who read my manuscript and gave me insightful suggestions.
    The author of the beautifully written
Finish Forty and Home: The Untold Story of B-24s in the Pacific
, Phil Scearce, knows the world of the AAF’s Pacific airmen better than any other historian. As I wrote this book, Phil was singularly generous, sharing his voluminous research, directing me to sources, and helping me sort through many a quandary. I am forever in his debt.
    I have great gratitude for B-29 navigator and former POW Raymond “Hap” Halloran. As I wrote this book, Hap became my almost daily email correspondent, offering me research help, sharing his photographs, telling of his experiences, sending gifts to cheer my sister’s children after their father’s death, and simply being my friend. Very few human beings have seen humanity’s dark side as Hap has, and yet he is ever buoyant, ever forgiving. Hap’s resilient heart is my inspiration.
    From the beginning of this project, I worked with two translators in Japan. They did so much more for me than mere translation, teaching me about their culture, helping me