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For some reason I never knew that the bombers were based out of England. Honestly, I never thought much about where they came from, it was always just a part of the war, you know? This makes much more sense than my strange notion that planes were just hiding out all over Europe much as the troops were. There were multiple other instances where I learned things I never knew I never knew (things I now can't understand why I never wondered about), but none are coming to mind right this moment.

I learned a lot things and felt in awe constantly. One fact that struck me was what Japan's leader said after Pearl Harbor. Wow, it made me wonder if things may have been slightly different if that communique has made it in time or if all of the ship's fleet had been in Pearl Harbor. For me, these two what ifs were the most mind boggling.

One thing I learned that was kinda random was about flak. I've heard the expression "giving someone flak" but I never stopped to think about the fact that flak was a real thing. I suppose all expressions have to come from somewhere. Kinda a "oooooooh" moment for me.

I enjoyed reading about the people in the Resistance and what they went through everyday. I guess I learned more about how lengthy all of that was, and how they would allow them to move about in the open, even if it was extremely dangerous.

Kia wrote:One thing I learned that was kinda random was about flak. I've heard the expression "giving someone flak" but I never stopped to think about the fact that flak was a real thing. I suppose all expressions have to come from somewhere. Kinda a "oooooooh" moment for me.

I never knew about this too, and it made more sense reading about it. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard of the phrase "giving someone flak"...so not only I learned from the book, but here too! Thank you for that.

hsimone wrote:I never knew about this too, and it made more sense reading about it. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard of the phrase "giving someone flak"...so not only I learned from the book, but here too! Thank you for that.

Yeah, it's not a hugely popular expression. It might also be a Canadian thing? Language is funny like that. We both speak English but the English we speak is not exactly the same.

Kia wrote:

hsimone wrote:I never knew about this too, and it made more sense reading about it. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard of the phrase "giving someone flak"...so not only I learned from the book, but here too! Thank you for that.

Yeah, it's not a hugely popular expression. It might also be a Canadian thing? Language is funny like that. We both speak English but the English we speak is not exactly the same.

Hm..maybe? It is funny how the English language varies from place to place.

hsimone wrote:I know the feeling!

One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the men could easily have died in the plane by frostbite, lack of oxygen and/or clogging up their oxygen tubes with frozen spit. In other words, war in it of itself is scary and death could be lurking around the corner, but the journey across was just as dangerous!

I haven't heard about that documentary, but it sounds very interesting and informational. I'll have to check it out. Thank you for sharing!

Me too! I never realized that could happen until I read that. My uncle was in the Air Force and he never mentioned that. I can't imagine how scary that would've been.

hsimone wrote:I know the feeling!

One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the men could easily have died in the plane by frostbite, lack of oxygen and/or clogging up their oxygen tubes with frozen spit. In other words, war in it of itself is scary and death could be lurking around the corner, but the journey across was just as dangerous!

I haven't heard about that documentary, but it sounds very interesting and informational. I'll have to check it out. Thank you for sharing!

What we learn from every war is important. Sometimes it is a medical breakthrough or other wonderful or not so wonderful knowledge.

Oh, where to start. I have learned so many things from this book. I am just going to list a few -

- The tours of duty for the Bombardiers during the war were based on a minimum number of missions, not length of time. Since missions were often scrubbed due to bad weather and other reasons, this just lengthened the time until the men could go home. Even injuries would delay the time to go home - for example, Howard couldn't go fly for a while due to his basketball injury. The tours started as a minimum of 25 missions and increased to 30 and then 35.

- D-day might never have happened if the Germans' V-2 rocket had been available earlier. It was the world's first long-range combat ballistic missile.

- More than 1 million British civilians were relocated to England's rural countryside to keep them safe during the London bombings. Many were children who were moved without their parents.

- The pilots and their crew were so young. It was mind boggling to think about such young men dealing with such dangerous air missions.

- As others have noted, the horrible conditions in the planes - the frostbite due to most of the planes not even being heated.

hsimone wrote:I know the feeling!

One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the men could easily have died in the plane by frostbite, lack of oxygen and/or clogging up their oxygen tubes with frozen spit. In other words, war in it of itself is scary and death could be lurking around the corner, but the journey across was just as dangerous!

I haven't heard about that documentary, but it sounds very interesting and informational. I'll have to check it out. Thank you for sharing!

I was totally blown away by the conditions on the plane at that time. I ended up pausing my reading to google army plane conditions in the modern world... now we have a lot of bells and whistles that could do serious damage.. but man.. what a difference to do the actual comparison!

I would never call myself a history buff, but I thought I knew more about the conditions of war back then. I apparently did not. I was shocked to learn how dangerous even the plans were. The conditions are hard to relate to because we are so used to commercial airliners. I am excited to learn more about these conditions, now that I have read "Shot Down".

This book was extremely enlightening for me. Most of the history I know involve major events and really broad topics. This book however was very personal and detailed. I never really thought about the planes that were shot down and the danger the pilots constantly put themselves in. I learned so much after reading about their day to day reality and the harsh horrible conditions they stayed in.

CrescentMoon wrote:This book was extremely enlightening for me. Most of the history I know involve major events and really broad topics. This book however was very personal and detailed. I never really thought about the planes that were shot down and the danger the pilots constantly put themselves in. I learned so much after reading about their day to day reality and the harsh horrible conditions they stayed in.

I totally agree. This book gave me a much better understanding of the conditions in Europe during WWII, including the Resistance and what the locals and POW's experienced.

hsimone wrote:Very good point, rssllue. This is probably why it was so shocking to read that at first. I actually read that part twice, making sure I was comprehending the words. Makes the people who fought even braver in my eyes.

I totally agree! To have the courage to climb aboard those planes time and again without trembling each time just blows my mind. I am not sure that I would be able to do the same. Just another reason why they have been called our greatest generation!